Album Review – Fossilization / Advent Of Wounds (2026)

Brazil’s own death and doom creature returns with its sophomore beast, a summoning of despair that drags the listener into a chasm where brutality and anguish entwine.

Emerging once again from the abyssal depths of the underground, São Paulo, Brazil-based Death/Doom Metal creature Fossilization returns with their sophomore opus entitled Advent of Wounds, a work of sheer ferocity and oppressive gloom, following up on their critically acclaimed 2023 debut Leprous Daylight. Produced by the band’s own vocalist, guitarist and bassist V. (aka Thiago “Vakka” Oliveira of Sludge/Death/Doom Metal band Jupiterian) and guitarist Z. (aka Fernando “Zozi” da Silveira of Thrash Metal band Blackning), engineered by Marcos Cerutti at Hellspass Studio, mixed and mastered by Gabriele Gramaglia at Crepuscular Sound Studio, featuring guest musician F. on drums, and displaying a cadaverous artwork by Chinese artist Guang Yang, Advent of Wounds is a relentless onslaught where its frantic and inexorable rhythms hammer with suffocating intensity, while riffs coil like sepulchral invocations in a maelstrom of death, doom, and blackened chaos highly recommended for fans of Dead Congregation, Krypts, Spectral Voice, and Antaeus.

Cremation of a Seraph already kicks off like a bulldozer, demolishing everything and everyone that dares to cross their path, with V.’s abyssal, deep guttural matching perfectly with the infernal drums by F., whereas Disentombed and Reassembled by the Ages is just as demonic and devastating as the opening tune, an overdose of Doom Metal-infused death madness where V. and Z. deliver the most scathing riffs imaginable. Scalded by His Sacred Halo, featuring guest vocalist Justin Stubbs, portrays a very poetic name for another ruthless aria of darkness by Fossilization where F. once again hammers his drums like there’s no tomorrow; followed by Terrestrial Mold, the sonic representation of total Armageddon, or a top-of-the-line Death and Doom Metal beast where V. vociferates like a creature from the netherworld. Then in Servo a Stygian start gradually morphs into a rumbling sonority not recommended for the faint at heart, while While the Light Lasts offers an even stronger Doom Metal vibe, as dark as the night, with the riffs by V. and Z. being boosted by the pounding drums by F. Lastly, Temple of Flies and Moss might be the shortest of all songs, but its incandescent violence makes it look like a true giant, ending the album on the most obscure note you can think of.

“From the start, my goal was to make an album even more brutal than Leprous Daylight, from sheer death metal brutality to the miserable melancholy of the doom-laden spirit of early Anathema, Paradise Lost, and early Katatonia. You can also hear many of black metal influences across the record, the opening riff of ‘Disentombed and Reassembled by the Ages’ is a direct nod to one of my all-time favorite bands, Antaeus,” commented V., and you can get in touch with him and his Fossilization via Facebook and Instagram, stream their obscure music on any platform such as Spotify, and of course purchase Advent of Wounds via mailorder or from BandCamp. Bleak, crushing and claustrophobic, Advent of Wounds is a summoning of despair that drags the listener into a chasm where brutality and anguish entwine. A suffocating testament to extremity that confirms Fossilization as one of the most formidable forces in contemporary Death and Doom Metal.

Best moments of the album: Cremation of a Seraph, Terrestrial Mold and Temple of Flies and Moss.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2026 Everlasting Spew Records

Track listing
1. Cremation of a Seraph 5:11
2. Disentombed and Reassembled by the Ages 5:34
3. Scalded by His Sacred Halo 4:20
4. Terrestrial Mold 5:51
5. Servo 5:08
6. While the Light Lasts 5:52
7. Temple of Flies and Moss 3:57

Band members
V. – vocals, guitars, bass
Z. – guitars

Guest musicians
F. – drums (session)
Justin Stubbs – vocals on “Scalded By His Sacred Halo”

Album Review – Creptum / VAMA (2020)

An unrelenting horde hailing from Brazil is ready to distill their raw, unfiltered Black Metal armed with their sulfurous new opus.

Formed in the already distant year of 2001 in the city of São Paulo, Brazil under the name Nekros with the sole objective of distilling Black Metal in its rawest aspect, an obscure Black Metal entity currently known as Creptum has just unleashed upon humanity their sophomore effort entitled VAMA, the follow-up to their 2016 debut opus Of Lies, Curses and Blood and their 2017 EP Reborn in Flames. Produced by Marcos Cerutti and featuring a blood-red artwork by Brazilian designer Raphael Grizilli, VAMA will certainly please all diehard fans of the old school Black Metal blasted by renowned acts such as Marduk, Gorgoroth, Sarcófago and Dark Funeral, among others, showcasing all the talent and obscurity by the band’s renewed lineup featuring vocalist and guitarist Nebro, guitarist T. Aversvs, bassist Corvo and drummer Animus Atra, positioning such distinct horde as one of the most interesting names of the underground Brazilian scene.

Animus Atra begins hammering his drums vigorously accompanied by the Black Metal riffage by Nebro and T. Aversvs in the opening aria Earth, while Nebro barks like a rabid beast nonstop, also bringing an ominous aura from Atmospheric Black Metal, whereas sounding more enraged, heavier and more demonic, the band goes full Black Metal in Reborn in Darkness, tailored for fans of the scorching music by Marduk and Darkthrone, with Nebro and T. Aversvs once again slashing our ears with their blasphemous riffs supported by the low-tuned, menacing bass by Corvus. Then strident guitar lines permeate the air in the also venomous 156, a hard-hitting, metallic extravaganza led by the band’s infernal kitchen of Corvus and Animus Atra, living up to the legacy of classic Black Metal infused with melodic nuances, followed by The Moon Above, bringing forward cryptic words vociferated by Nebro (“I hear the pounding of drums / My bones shiver with their sound / And I feel my heart, I feel my heart racing / I feel the dirt beneath my feet, / The transmutation of black moon above me / I feel the heat of the battles / That are now happening within”) while his bandmates keep the ambience as dense, ominous and electrifying as possible.

The title-track VAMA is another Stygian composition where the entire band adds hints of Doom Metal to their already sulfurous Black Metal, with Animus Atra alternating between vicious blast beats and sluggish, phantasmagorical passages, sounding utterly detailed and captivating from start to finish; and the acoustic instrumental tune Kundaliní gives us a few moments of introspection and peace before all hell breaks loose in Revolution Within, a disruptive onrush of Black Metal sounds spearheaded by Animus Atra and his demented drums, with Nebro growling deeply and rabidly while Corvo is unstoppable with her wicked bass punches. Creptum don’t stop darkening the skies and our souls with their imposing and epic Black Metal sonority in Devouring Mother, sounding as if Immortal and Mayhem had a bastard son while the gruesome gnarls by Nebro penetrate deep inside your psyche, until the closing tune On My Skin brings to our ears a few brief moments of serenity before the quartet crushes our skulls one last time with their heavy-as-hell sound, presenting a neck-breaking rhythm led by Animus Atra’s classic beats.

This fantastic display of South American Black Metal can be appreciated in full on Spotify, but of course if you want to show your true support and admiration for this Brazilian horde you should definitely purchase VAMA from their own BandCamp page, from the Drakker Productions’ BandCamp page or webstore, from Apple Music or from Amazon. In addition, don’t forget to follow Creptum on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube for news, tour dates and more of their incendiary music, consequently proving you’re a true disciple of the underworld. VAMA is not just another album of Black Metal, but a bold statement by a band that is fully dedicated to such obscure subgenre of heavy music, and above that, to show Brazil can also be an excellent source of the most extreme type of music you can think of.

Best moments of the album: Reborn in Darkness, VAMA and Devouring Mother.

Worst moments of the album: Earth.

Released in 2020 Drakkar Productions

Track listing
1. Earth 4:48
2. Reborn in Darkness 5:00
3. 156 4:52
4. The Moon Above 3:35
5. VAMA 5:59
6. Kundaliní 3:39
7. Revolution Within 3:35
8. Devouring Mother 4:48
9. On My Skin 4:31

Band members
Nebro – vocals, guitar
T. Aversvs – guitar, bass
Corvo – bass
Animus Atra – drums

Guest musician
Tanatos – additional vocals
Deimous Nefus – guitar