MALICIOUS Merciless Storm EP and INTO DARKNESS Cassini Huygens EP OUT NOW!

OUT NOW! Into Darkness Cassini – Huygens, on 12″ vinyl format (ltd blue and regular black vinyl).

Formed in 2011, Italy’s Into Darkness have been a work in progress for the last decade-plus. Led by vocalist / guitarist Doomed Warrior from the very beginning, the band have a handful of demos, a couple splits, and now a couple EPs to their name; while all short-lengths, they’re certainly not lacking in quality. And while they’ve experienced a few hiatuses and just as many lineup shuffles, Into Darkness are now poised to make up for lost time Cassini – Huygens.

As suggested by its title, Cassini – Huygens is the latest cosmic tale from the increasingly space-obsessed Into Darkness. But lest one expect this EP to travel among tech-death starts, Doomed Warrior and her space-crew stick to staunchly old-school death metal in the vein of Asphyx, Pentacle, and early Soulburn, brimming with the thematic splendor of space rather than being entirely overrun by it. Totaling 27 minutes of music, the EP’s five tracks encompass a concept based on the Cassini-Huygens space mission to Saturn: an immersive journey in the most exciting interplanetary mission ever done. Blast off and lose thyself in the cosmic maelstrom of Into Darkness’ Cassini – Huygens!

Catch them LIVE in Barcelona, Spain tomorrow (Sat, Dec 2nd)!

OUT NOW! MALICIOUS Merciless Storm EP (12″ vinyl on limited silver and regular black vinyl, both with a screen printed B Side)

It was but October 2020 when INVICTUS released MALICIOUS’ long-awaited debut album, Deranged Hexes. With both band moniker and album title aptly-fucking-named, MALICIOUS’ Deranged Hexes completely upratcheted the band’s foundational sound – a car crash of cobwebbed evil and gibbering intensity, ranging the likes of Necrovore, ‘80s Possessed, and especially Mike Browning-era Morbid Angel to the earliest (and best) works of Sarcofago and Sepultura – to an insanely OTT level. In every respect, the record was the penultimate in blackened Metal of Death, and it was duly hailed for its dangerously unhinged demeanor.

Three years may’ve passed since that recording, but MALICIOUS have only become more unhinged in the meantime. Witness the four-song Merciless Storm. Tauntingly titled once again, Merciless Storm picks up right where Deranged Hexes left off, but sees the Finns following a natural progression in all aspects. With a runtime of 11 minutes, it’s mercilessly / mercifully short and sweet, upping the violence and aggression to levels impossibly beyond that nuclear-powered debut album. And yet, the songwriting remains stout and streamlined and perhaps minutely more detailed and even palatably “refined.” If anything, Merciless Storm possesses a clearer sound field, but that only amplifies the savagery to an insane degree, especially the ’80s Slayer-style solos. Nothing else to say: this is a fucking Merciless Storm!