Album Review – Reanimated / Vomit The Plague EP (2025)

A horde of old school German metalheads will crush us all with their debut EP, celebrating carnage and domination just the way we like it in classic Death Metal.

A horde of old school Death Metal heads who worship the brutal god of the rotten, Kassel, Hesse, Germany-based entity Reanimated was formed in the beginning of 2022 from the ruins of different old Death Metal cults to spread mischief and showcase their passion and devotion for extreme music. Currently formed of vocalist Mike (from Melodic Death/Black Metal horde Dark Horizon, who released in 2024 the excellent album Darkness Falls Upon Mankind), guitarists Alex and Jörg, bassist Benni, and drummer Andre, Reanimated are ready to attack armed with their debut offering, a five-track EP entitled Vomit The Plague, celebrating carnage and domination just the way we like it in classic Death Metal.

Just hit play and you’ll face a cinematic intro titled Rebirth, with the desperate screams by an unknown woman setting a horrific tone in Infant Decapitation, a brutal, no shenanigans Death Metal avalanche blasted by the band where Mike sounds ruthless as usual on vocals supported by the classic beats by Andre. The title-track Vomit The Plague is even more infuriated thanks to the harsh riffage by Alex and Jörg, while Benni and Andre craft a beyond heavy kitchen for our total delight; whereas The Extinction is the perfect follow-up to the title-track, with the sirens in its intro warning the listener of the absolute chaos and despair that’s about to come, evolving into a demonic feast of old school Death Metal led by the harsh guitar lines by Alex and Jörg. Finally, let’s slam into the pit to the pulverizing two and a half minutes found in Flesh Collector, where Andre shows no mercy for his drums nor for our necks.

The ruthless horde known as Reanimator is waiting for you on Facebook, on Instagram and on YouTube with news, tour dates, and more of their music, and of course in order to show them your total support and admiration you can grab a copy of  Vomit The Plague from BandCamp, as well as stream it in full as many times as you want on Spotify. Now that Reanimated have finally left their obscure lair to spread evil across the world, I don’t think it will take too long for the band to unleash upon us their first ever full-length album, and if there’s one thing that can be said about that is that if they follow a similar pattern as the destructive music found in Vomit The Plague, it will be total chaos, violence and blood, always in the name of our beloved Death Metal.

Best moments of the album: Vomit The Plague and The Extinction.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2025 Independent

Track listing
1. Rebirth 1:07
2. Infant Decapitation 5:06
3. Vomit The Plague 5:31
4. The Extinction 5:38
5. Flesh Collector 2:38

Band members
Mike – vocals
Alex – guitar
Jörg – guitar
Benni – bass
Andre – drums

Album Review – Dark Horizon / Darkness Falls Upon Mankind (2024)

As darkness falls upon mankind, this devilish horde from Germany attacks with their sophomore album, exhaling their obsession for mid-90’s Scandinavian and German Black Metal.

Spreading the dark arts all over the world since their inception in 2007 in Kassel, a city in central Germany, the heavy-as-hell Melodic Black Metal horde Dark Horizon has finally unleashed upon us their sophomore black mass, entitled Darkness Falls Upon Mankind, the follow-up to their 2012 debut Diabolic Agreement and their 2017 EP Odyssey. Recorded, mixed and mastered by Andy Classen at Stage One Studio, the new album by Mike on vocals, Adrian on the guitars, Colin on bass, and Daniel on drums exhales their obsession for mid-90’s Scandinavian and German Black Metal, uniting melancholy and disharmony with their passion for absolute darkness, being therefore recommended for admirers of the music by Dark Funeral, Naglfar, Dissection, and Watain, just to name a few.

Secrets Of The Nightmare Prophecies already sounds utterly sharp and melodic, with Mike leading his horde with his demonic screams and gnarls, resulting in a beyond solid start to the album and morphing into the bestial title-track Darkness Falls Upon Mankind, where the song’s blast beats and razor-edged riffs turn it into a must-listen for admirers of 90’s Black Metal. Adrian continues to deliver fire and evil from his axe in The Awakening, a song perfect for some devilish headbanging while Daniel’s drums will decimate your cranial skull. Old Gods offers more of the band’s undisputed Melodic Black Metal, again showcasing the hellish roars by Mike while Colin adds his share of heaviness to the sound with his menacing bass, whereas Tempest Of Ancient Screams is an imposing, heavy-as-hell and absolutely dark composition that lives up to the legacy of the genre, with Adrian doing a superb job with his old school Black Metal riffs.

And Adrian’s strident, visceral riffs continue to darken the skies in In The Hall Of Bloodstreams, where Mike takes his demonic gnarls to a whole new level of obscurity; then get ready for a seven-minute onrush of sulfur and evil titled Am Tag Meines Todes (which is German for “on the day of my death”), bringing to our ears an overdose of caustic riffs and blast beats while Colin hammers his bass mercilessly, with all breaks and variations making it feel like two amazing songs in one. After that we have Funeral, offering us all three minutes of straight-to-the-point Black Metal with no shenanigans nor any artificial elements, followed by Ekpyrosis, another seven-minute song but this time sounding a bit confusing compared to the rest of the album, albeit still showcasing the band’s passion for darkness and evil. And closing the album we’re treated to two very special covers showcasing their influences in music, starting with Naglfar’s The Brimstone Gate (check the original version HERE, from their 1998 cult album Diabolical), and followed by Mithotyn’s King Of The Distant Forest (check the original version HERE, from their 1998 opus King of the Distant Forest), both exhaling the same Black Metal essence from the original versions but of course with Dark Horizon’s own twist.

The guys from Dark Horizon are waiting for you on Facebook, on Instagram and on YouTube with news, tour dates, and more of their caustic Black Metal, and you can obviously add the excellent Darkness Falls Upon Mankind to your devilish collection by purchasing it from their own BandCamp page, as well as from Apple Music or Amazon Music. As darkness falls upon mankind, Dark Horizon will strike us hard with their furious new album, adding another solid stone to the impenetrable Black Metal castle that exists in their homeland, therefore fueling them for more in the coming years for the delight of fans of 90’s Black Metal.

Best moments of the album: Darkness Falls Upon Mankind, Tempest Of Ancient Screams and Am Tag Meines Todes.

Worst moments of the album: Ekpyrosis.

Released in 2024 Independent

Track listing
1. Secrets Of The Nightmare Prophecies 4:25
2. Darkness Falls Upon Mankind 5:23
3. The Awakening 3:21
4. Old Gods 4:53
5. Tempest Of Ancient Screams 3:45
6. In The Hall Of Bloodstreams 3:17
7. Am Tag Meines Todes 7:13
8. Funeral 3:15
9. Ekpyrosis 7:40
10. The Brimstone Gate (Naglfar cover) 4:54
11. King Of The Distant Forest (Mithotyn cover) 5:26

Band members
Mike – vocals
Adrian – guitars
Colin – bass
Daniel – drums