These Dutch death deallers return from the underworld with their newborn beast, combining a wide variety of harsh musical textures and emotions into dark and oppressive soundscapes.

Six years after their 2019 acclaimed studio album Merciless Savagery, the ruthless Tilburg, Netherlands-based death dealers Antropomporphia return with their darkest and most brutal record so far, aptly entitled Devoid of Light. Recorded and mixed by the band’s own drummer Marco Stubbe at Aftermath Studio, with further recording by Daan Janzing at Pitchfork Studio, mastered by Dan Swanö at Unisound, and showcasing a Stygian cover art by Richard Schouten, the new beast by Ferry Damen on vocals and guitar, Jos van den Brand also on the guitar, Jeroen Pleunis on bass, and Marco Stubbe on drums combines a wide variety of harsh musical textures including fanatical, white-eyed aggression, misanthropic and nihilistic lyrics, and dark emotions such as anger, despair, and pain among many others into dark and oppressive soundscapes.

The gates of the underworld are wide open to the sound of the evil guitars by Ferry and Jos in The Withering Stench of Hope, igniting a headbanging beast of Black and Death Metal followed by the title-track Devoid of Light, sounding and feeling even more obscure than the opening track, with the unstoppable drums by Marco matching perfectly with Ferry’s hellish Death Metal roars. Funeral Throne is another sulfurous, unrelenting attack by the quartet where their pulverizing riffage walks hand in hand with the pounding bass by Jeroen; and then adding elements from Doom Metal to their acid essence, the band fires the even heavier and more menacing In Writhing Rapture, led by the steady and vile beats by Marco in an ode to obscurity.

The second half of the album begins in full force with a demented Blackened Death Metal creature named Cancerous Bane, spearheaded by the always demonic guttural by Ferry; and the band continues to haunt our damned souls with their blend of Death and Black Metal in Unending Hunt, with Jeroen’s bass lines sounding utterly brutal, all boosted by a striking guitar solo. After that, the crushing drums by Marco kick off the venomous Ash Drapes the Earth, accompanied by the blackened riffs by Ferry and Jos, resulting in a lesson in extreme music; whereas In the Shade of the Devils Horns carries a beautiful name for another explosion of infernal Death Metal by such an amazing Dutch horde. And last but not least, the band goes full Doom Metal in Triumphant Death, sounding haunting, evil and melodic, albeit lacking the same punch as the rest of the album.

In a nutshell, Devoid of Light shows the world that Antropomporphia are still hungry to push the limits of both themselves and of the Death Metal scene to new frontiers, inviting us all to crank the volume up to 10 and simply let the album rip, which is quite easy to do as you can grab a copy of this sulfurous opus from BandCamp or by clicking HERE. You can also join such an amazing Dutch horde in total darkness by following them on Facebook and on Instagram, keeping an eye on their tour dates, and staying loyal to the foundations of extreme music while also renouncing all light, exactly like what the band wants you to achieve to the sound of their excellent newborn spawn. And if you have what it takes to face Devoid of Light, you’ll certainly have a very good time together with those bringers of Dutch darkness.

Best moments of the album: Devoid of Light, Cancerous Bane and Ash Drapes the Earth.

Worst moments of the album: Triumphant Death.

Released in 2025 Testimony Records

Track listing
1. The Withering Stench of Hope 5:05
2. Devoid of Light 5:17
3. Funeral Throne 3:28
4. In Writhing Rapture 5:04
5. Cancerous Bane 3:37
6. Unending Hunt 5:32
7. Ash Drapes the Earth 3:47
8. In the Shade of the Devils Horns 4:53
9. Triumphant Death 5:58

Band members
Ferry Damen – vocals, guitar
Jos van den Brand – guitar
Jeroen Pleunis – bass
Marco Stubbe – drums