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Album Review – Hexrot / Formless Ruin of Oblivion (2025)

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The first full-length opus by this American duo flows continuously across seven tracks, maintaining a constant tension between the harmony and dissonance of its ever-shifting web of musical ideas.

Combining a dense stylistic mélange of Death, Black, and Thrash Metal with inventive electronic experimentation and a keen sense of structure, Formless Ruin of Oblivion is the brand new offering by Massachusetts, United States-based Avantgarde Death/Black/Thrash Metal duo Hexrot, following up on their 2022 debut EP Gloomwrought. Mastered by Colin Marston at Menegroth – The Thousand Caves, and displaying a stunning artwork from The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymous Bosch, with logo by Nat Lacuna, the 35-minute first full-length opus by Arkain on vocals, guitars and bass, and Melmoth on vocals, drums and electronics flows continuously across seven tracks, maintaining a constant tension between the harmony and dissonance of its ever-shifting web of musical ideas. Seamlessly interwoven, a bed of modular synthesizer and other digital flourishes run the gamut from clangorous and industrial to warm and ethereal, being therefore recommended for fans of Felgrave, Construct of Lethe, Deathspell Omega, Blut aus Nord, Death, Ulcerate, and Veilburner.

What Lies Veiled is simply ethereal and enigmatic from the very first second, gradually morphing into an experimental beast led by the intricate drumming by Melmoth while Arkain shreds his axe in the name of insanity, flowing into Heavenward, a lecture in Avantgarde and Progressive Death Metal where their experimentations reach a whole new level, all boosted by the the duo’s demented vociferations; again seamlessly connecting with Consecrating Luminous Conflagration, where they keep blasting their demented sounds led by the wicked riffage by Arkain. Then we have the otherworldly interlude Ghostly Retrograde I, setting the stage for Hexrot to crush our souls and dreams with Clandestine Haunt, with Arkain’s caustic guitars matching perfectly with Melmoth’s frantic beats and fills in another explosion of demented Death Metal, once again changing its shape and form into the interlude Ghostly Retrograde II, another atmospheric and embracing instrumental piece that works perfectly as the warmup for the title-track Formless Ruin of Oblivion, a 15-minute creature from the abyss of extreme music, starting in the most phantasmagorical manner before the duo begins peeling our flesh mercilessly with their chaotic and visceral sounds, exhaling madness to their wicked riffs, bass lines and cryptic drums, as if there were three or four songs clashing in great fashion inside of it, consequently setting fire to the ambience until its climatic yet vile finale.

In addition to all that, the immediacy of a live studio recording gives Formless Ruin of Oblivion a high level of authenticity and power, but careful production ensures you’ll still be discovering new things multiple listens in. Hence, you can get to know more about such a promising duo hailing from the United States through their official Facebook and Instagram, stream their debut EP and soon their newborn opus on Spotify or any other streaming service, and purchase a copy of the album from the Transcending Obscurity Records’ BandCamp, main store, US store or EU store. It’s truly impressive how only two musicians were capable of putting together such a detailed, bold and complex album, sounding like a multi-headed beast of extreme music while remaining loyal to their foundations and absolutely humble, working hard to keep crafting high quality music for us avid metalheads. No idea what’s next for those two beyond talented guys, but if their next album is just as half as good as Formless Ruin of Oblivion, we’ll have a very good reason to keep a huge smile on our faces while headbanging manically.

Best moments of the album: Heavenward, Clandestine Haunt and Formless Ruin of Oblivion.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2025 Transcending Obscurity Records

Track listing
1. What Lies Veiled 3:49
2. Heavenward 5:26
3. Consecrating Luminous Conflagration 4:05
4. Ghostly Retrograde I 1:10
5. Clandestine Haunt 3:06
6. Ghostly Retrograde II 1:52
7. Formless Ruin of Oblivion 15:53

Band members
Arkain – vocals, guitars, bass
Melmoth – vocals, drums, electronics

Album Review – Cradle of Filth / Existence Is Futile (2021)

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A bewitching, fearless nosedive into the abyss masterfully brought into being by UK’s most infernal Extreme Metal institution of all ages.

All hope has disappeared into the void. The flames that flickered on the horizon for so long have reached our backyard, leaving endless fields of black ashes and smoke rising from the ruins of our lands. Yet, why shall we not enjoy a last ferocious soundtrack to our inevitable end? That’s exactly what UK’s own Extreme Metal institution Cradle of Fitlh has to offer us all in Existence Is Futile, their thirteenth studio opus and the follow-up to their critically acclaimed albums Hammer Of The Witches and Cryptoriana – The Seductiveness of Decay. Produced by Scott Atkins at Grindstone Studios and displaying another bestial artwork by Arthur Berzinsh, who took inspiration from The Garden of Earthly Delights by Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch, Existence Is Futile is about existential terror, the threat of everything and the end of the world according to the band’s frontman and mastermind Dani Filth, all embraced by the grandiose metal music carefully brought into being by Dani and his henchmen Richard Shaw and Marek “Ashok” Šmerda on the guitars, Daniel Firth on bass, Martin “Marthus” Škaroupka on drums, and newcomer Anabelle Iratni (who also plays with Dani on the Symphonic Gothic/Groove Metal project Devilment) on female vocals, keyboards, lyre and orchestrations.

The classic intro The Fate of the World on Our Shoulders is absolutely obscure, cinematic and epic, opening the gates of hell for the band to kill in Existential Terror, with all background orchestrations making Dani’s demonic gnarls sound even creepier accompanied by the sulfurous guitars by Richard and Ashok. In other words, it’s an imposing Symphonic Black Metal tune to properly kick things off, whereas switching to their trademark fusion of Gothic and Black Metal we’re treated to Necromantic Fantasies, where Anabelle proves why she was chosen to be the band’s new keyboardist delivering crisp, phantasmagorical keys for our absolute delight. The first single of the album, Crawling King Chaos, is a demonic creature in the form of extreme music where the heaviness of the guitars create an awesome paradox with the song’s whimsical keys, not to mention how infernal Marthus sounds on drums as usual; then it’s time to soothe our damned souls to the enfolding interlude Here Comes a Candle… (Infernal Lullaby) before we face five minutes of sheer darkness in the acid Black Smoke Curling from the Lips of War, with Dani’s hellish screeches walking hand in hand with Anabelle’s clean vocals and the demolishing kitchen crafted by Daniel and Marthus. And Discourse Between a Man and His Soul is another dark and melancholic tune that matches perfectly with the band’s theatrical vibe, with Daniel bringing tons of heaviness to the overall result.

Cradle of Filth Existence Is Futile Mailorder Edition Box Set

Another massive wall of sounds will hammer your heads mercilessly in the sinister The Dying of the Embers, once again presenting the band’s trademark blast beats infused with more melodic and gothic nuances, followed by the Mephistophelian interlude Ashen Mortality, spearheaded by Anabelle’s somber keys and warming up our senses for How Many Tears to Nurture a Rose?, a beautiful, old school Cradle of Filth composition that will sound amazing if played live. Furthermore, Dani is infernal on vocals as usual while Daniel and Marthus add endless groove and feeling to the music with their respective bass jabs and pounding drums; and a guest narration by Doug Bradley talking about how our rotten society is coming to an end quickly explodes into brutal and melodic Extreme Metal in Suffer Our Dominion, with Anabelle stealing the spotlight one more time. Us, Dark, Invincible, the last song from the regular version of the album, is as imposing and grim as its predecessors, with Dani roaring, growling and screaming nonstop for the delectation of all his fanbase while the band’s guitar duo adds sheer aggressiveness to the overall result. Lastly, if you go for the digital and deluxe edition of the album you’ll be treated to two amazing bonus tracks Sisters of the Mist and Unleash the Hellion, both extreme and demented, with Marthus smashing his drums ferociously until the very last second.

“Existence Is Futile is the apocalyptic conclusion of three years of Cradle of Filth’s world touring and is definitely our most severe album to date, reveling in existential dread, the fear of the unknown, the uncertainty of fate in a yawning cosmos and the meaninglessness of life also being the search for life’s meaning”, commented Dani about the band’s new album, also saying that “heavy stuff indeed and as a wise man was allegedly recently heard to say ‘The inevitable heat-death of the universe and subsequent closure of time and space itself, could have no better soundtrack than this album’.” If you want to join the almighty Cradle of Filth in their quest for extreme music and add Existence Is Futile to your apocalyptic collection, you can follow the band on Facebook and on Instagram for news, tour dates and other sorts of witchcraft, and purchase your favorite version of the album by clicking HERE, including the stunning mailorder edition box set limited to 650 copies worldwide containing the digipack and the silver double LP version of the album, buttons, a flag, a necklace, a lyrics sheet and an alternate cover. A bewitching, fearless nosedive into the abyss, Existence Is Futile is the perfect album for these most imperfect of times, and if the world comes to an end before their next opus is unleashed upon humanity at least we’ll enjoy our afterlife knowing their ultimate howl was indeed a beast of an album.

Best moments of the album: Crawling King Chaos, Black Smoke Curling from the Lips of War, The Dying of the Embers and How Many Tears to Nurture a Rose?

Worst moments of the album: Necromantic Fantasies.

Released in 2021 Nuclear Blast

Track listing
1. The Fate of the World on Our Shoulders 1:37
2. Existential Terror 6:17
3. Necromantic Fantasies 5:40
4. Crawling King Chaos 5:27
5. Here Comes a Candle… (Infernal Lullaby) 1:28
6. Black Smoke Curling from the Lips of War 5:21
7. Discourse Between a Man and His Soul 5:30
8. The Dying of the Embers 6:08
9. Ashen Mortality 1:50
10. How Many Tears to Nurture a Rose? 4:34
11. Suffer Our Dominion 6:22
12. Us, Dark, Invincible 6:26

Digital/Deluxe Edition bonus tracks
13. Sisters of the Mist 7:14
14. Unleash the Hellion 6:23

Band members
Dani Filth – lead vocals
Richard Shaw – guitars
Marek “Ashok” Šmerda – guitars
Daniel Firth – bass
Anabelle Iratni – female vocals, keyboards, lyre, orchestrations
Martin “Marthus” Škaroupka – drums, keyboards, orchestrations

Guest musician
Doug Bradley – narration on “Suffer Our Dominion” and “Sisters of the Mist”