If I could give this a rating in my realm of thought, it would be 1000%/100%! I was diligently waiting for about 4 years after 'Last Contact' (2021) was released, only to find that this LP here would be in the "superior reign" over all of their discography. They're not so much abandoning their dark black metal-esque style but rather blending it into an eerie vibe that’s chilling, ambient and warped. I would venture to say it reflects more melodic black metal than anything else, with a tint of evil atmospheric chaos in the sound throughout the recording.

The music is sort of like (to me) blackened death metal reflective of some bands such as Witchery, but possibly a bit darker. Or maybe also similar to the incredible Immortal album 'At the Heart of Winter' (1999). I mean, in that it's got that sort of atmospheric touch to it that reflects that period in time for Immortal. Even a little more modern like Old Man's Child with the drums double kicking, guitar tone/sound and the "dry" recording taste to it. Chris Grim did mention wanting Withering Soul's material to have that touch of Abyss Studios vibe to it, like "ATHOW".

Brilliant song titles and lyrics of which the focus is on mainly ghosts, horror, the paranormal, and death. Not really subjects I read about much, but the themes work well with their style of music and keep it underground.

I feel that I'm not "overrating" this LP, but yet, giving the band the justice they deserve on making a great sound conglomeration of music. Upon release of their first LP entitled 'Apparitions of the Surreal' in 2004, the band went through lineup changes, but they've also grown quite a lot since that debut. Some bands do progress musically and some just keep releasing the same album every 3-4 years that's basically the same sort of thing just a new album title and lyrics, musically it's the same recycled garbage. Withering Soul keep improving musically and they're experimenting with new sounds without abandoning their dark black metal-esque roots.

I found that I liked the songs 'Attrition Horizon' and 'Gallery to the End' the most, but check out the entire LP on Decibel online magazine streaming. Withering Soul has their own sound, though as I pointed out, these above bands give you an idea what to expect. Not entirely, but at least you have some material now in your head on what will come out of your headphones or speakers! And again, please take a listen to the entire 41+ minute album, it'll blow your mind! Don't pass this up, it's one of the top metal albums from 2025 with a touch of black/blackened death/death metal all in one recording!

Rating: 10 (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Death8699
02/10/2026 11:35