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Album Review – Abyssalis / Adaptation (2025)

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Masterfully blending classic Death Metal with technical and brutal elements, this American band is ready to soar armed with their captivating newborn spawn.

Imbibing various elements of contemporary Death Metal to concoct music that is at once technical, groovy, and riff-driven, Atlanta, Georgia-based Technical Death Metal/Deathcore entity Abyssalis is ready to please fans of bands the likes of Soreption, Eschaton, Fleshbore, Decapitated, and Demon King, among others, with their brand new offering, entitled Adaptation. Featuring five previously unreleased songs, plus all songs from their 2023 debut EP The Mountain as a beyond special bonus (leading to a healthy discussion about the album being a full-length or a special EP), all embraced by the striking artwork by Justin Abraham (Inanimate Existence, Equipoise, Arkaik), the new album by Mac Smith (Eschaton, Apogean) on vocals, Josh Steverson on the guitars, Cole Daniels (Fleshbore, Unaligned) on bass, and Jack Blackburn (Unaligned, Killitorous) on drums masterfully blends classic Death Metal with technical and brutal elements, resulting in a captivating beast tailored for fans of all intricate forms of extreme music.

The extremely technical yet pulverizing riffs by Josh and beats and fills by Jack will crush you like an insect in Adaptation, sounding infernal form start to finish in a lecture in Technical Death Metal; and Jack keeps destroying his drums in great fashion in Indomitable, accompanied by the ruthless bass lines by Cole while Mac growls deeply and manically nonstop. Those metal lunatics will crush your damned bodies mercilessly in Pandemonium, with the demented roars by Mac and the sick drumming by Jack turning it into a must-listen for fans of the genre, and the riffs by Josh will pierce your mind while Cole and Jack will knock you out with their devilish kitchen in Senescence, before we face the also inhumane Valholl, a lesson in brutality and intricacy by the quartet where Jack steals the show with his fulminating beats and fills.

All of the following tracks are from the band’s complete previous The Mountain release, but that only makes the album even more powerful, starting with Arrival, where its dark intro gradually turns into a demonic feast of Death Metal, followed by Attitude of Gratitude, where Jack hammers his drums mercilessly in the name of extreme music. Mac keeps barking like a rabid beast in Synonymous, with the music exhaling hatred, intricacy and darkness just he way we like it in Death Metal; and the venomous riffs by Josh will melt your damned minds and souls in Shine, all while also sounding absolutely melodic. Josh’s hard hitting riffs are nicely complemented by the rumbling bass by Cole in Ethos, keeping the album as vibrant as it can be; whereas lastly, the quartet will demolish our frail bodies with The Hills Have Eyes, spearheaded by the venomous roars by Mac.

In a nutshell, Adaptation is a solid, enjoyable release that serves as a fine introduction for this unheralded band that is poised for bigger things in the future, and if you like what you hear you should definitely give the guys from Abyssalis a shout on Facebook and on Instagram, as well as stream their creations on Spotify, and grab a copy of the album from their own BandCamp or from the Transcending Obscurity Records’ main store, Bandcamp, Europe store or US store. The future of Death Metal is certainly in good hands with bands like Abyssalis embellishing the airwaves with their unique and dynamic sounds, and I’m sure we’ll hear a lot more from those guys in the near future, shortly after their newborn spawn Adaptation takes the world of heavy music by storm.

Best moments of the album: Adaptation, Pandemonium and Synonymous.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2025 Transcending Obscurity Records

Track listing
1. Adaptation 3:27
2. Indomitable 4:15
3. Pandemonium 3:16
4. Senescence 3:41
5. Valholl 3:29

The Mountain 2023 EP bonus tracks
6. Arrival 5:01
7. Attitude of Gratitude 3:04
8. Synonymous 3:24
9. Shine 3:49
10. Ethos 3:45
11. The Hills Have Eyes 4:25

Band members
Mac Smith – vocals
Josh Steverson – guitars
Cole Daniels – bass
Jack Blackburn – drums

Album Review – Cytolysis / Surge Of Cruelty (2025)

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This one-man Technical and Brutal Death Metal machine is back with its ruthless sophomore opus, constructed from eleven sonic acts of torture.

Born in Naugatuck, Connecticut, but currently based in Boston, Massachusetts, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Darren Cesca, the demented drummer with Goratory, Eschaton and previously Deeds Of Flesh, has returned with Surge Of Cruelty, the second album from his unconscionably brutal solo project, Cytolysis, following up on his 2020 debut Portraits of Malevolence. Mixed and mastered by Darren Cesca himself, adorned in the hypnotically horrifying artwork of Vladimir Cebakov (Six Feet Under, 1914, DeadHead), and featuring brutal guest vocal performances from Mac Smith (Eschaton), Brian Forgue (Syphilic), Adam Mason (Goratory) and Flo Butcher (Tortured), Surge Of Cruelty is constructed from eleven sonic acts of torture, where twisted technicality and methodical precision collide with frenzied explosions of fury and unnerving alien atmospheres, offering exactly what we’re always looking for in high-quality Technical and Brutal Death Metal in the vein of Cannibal Corpse, Deeds Of Flesh, In Asymmetry, and Incinerate.

Darren wastes no time and ignite his demented metal attack in the form of Your Slow Demise, where his infernal gnarling matches perfectly with his killer blast beats; and featuring guest vocals by Mac Smith, Devout Sacrifice is a beyond demented creation where the sound of his riffs is truly piercing and austere, resulting in a lecture in violence and gore. Then in the title-track Surge of Cruelty our dauntless Darren keeps barking like a demented creature while also firing some of his most intricate and visceral riffage, and get ready to headbang until your neck breaks in half to the sound of Consenting Brood, with Darren’s metallic bass and pounding drums boosting his visceral growls in great fashion. After such an insane tune, guest Brian Forgue lends his demented gnarls to A Blood-Soaked Offering, leaning towards the most gruesome form of Brutal Death Metal.

The Stygian, atmospheric interlude Ritual Carnage will darken the skies before Darren comes ripping once again with Tribal Savagery, where his deep pig-like screeches will disturb your frail mind while he keeps blasting his drums in the name of extreme music. Then featuring guest vocals by Adam Mason, Tortured Flesh brings forward more of the inhumane fusion of Brutal Death Metal and classic Deathcore by Cytolysis, spiced up by some nicely inserted cryptic nuances; and of course with a guy like Flo Butcher as a guest vocalist the final result was going to be demolishing to say the least in Mark of the Demons, offering those downtempo breaks perfect for some brutal slamming. Darren doesn’t sound human with his deep guttural and unstoppable beats and fills in Innocence is Raped, offering an avalanche of first-class Brutal Death Metal, whereas the last song of the album, titled Hung from the Rafters, is just as insane and demented, with Darren hammering his guitars and bass until the very end.

Not only a seasoned musician who has already played with tons of amazing underground bands the likes of Eschaton, Goratory, Pillory, Serpent of Gnosis, Vile, In Asymmetry, Virulence, Hideous Deformity, Arsis, Blasphemer, Deeds of Flesh, Incinerate , Burn in Silence, Strappado, and Embers from Cremation, Darren has also studied Performance: Percussion at Berklee College of Music, and appeared as a guest drummer in the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops II, just to give you an idea of how talented he is, and how he crafted Surge of Cruelty to sound as catchy as razor wire through flesh, offering a blend of Technical and Brutal Death Metal of the highest order. You can find more information about him on Facebook, and put your dirty hands on Surge Of Cruelty via Comatose Music’s BandCamp or webstore, supporting such an amazing underground musician in his quest for extreme music.

Best moments of the album: Devout Sacrifice, A Blood-Soaked Offering and Innocence is Raped.

Worst moments of the album: Ritual Carnage.

Released in 2025 Comatose Music

Track listing
1. Your Slow Demise 4:29
2. Devout Sacrifice 4:29
3. Surge of Cruelty 4:32
4. Consenting Brood 3:19
5. A Blood-Soaked Offering 3:41
6. Ritual Carnage (Instrumental) 1:34
7. Tribal Savagery 3:40
8. Tortured Flesh 4:58
9. Mark of the Demons 5:07
10. Innocence is Raped 3:48
11. Hung from the Rafters 4:03

Band members
Darren Cesca – vocals, all instruments

Guest musician
Mac Smith – vocals on “Devout Sacrifice”
Brian Forgue – vocals on “A Blood-Soaked Offering”
Adam Mason – vocals on “Tortured Flesh”
Flo Butcher – vocals on “Mark of the Demons”