Release Date April 24th, 2026
Format Digital
Genre Old School Swedish Death Metal
Origin Stockholm/Sweden
Stockholm, Sweden’s Xorsist formed as torchbearers of the city’s enduring death metal legacy, rooted in the tradition of old school Swedish death metal. Gustav Ryderfelt formed the band, which later solidified with Birk Castenmalm and Alphonse Bouquelon, balancing tradition with progression. They released their debut album "Deadly Possession" in 2022 and their second full-length "At The Somber Steps Of Serenity" via Prosthetic Records in 2023, building a track record within the Swedish underground. Now signed to Hammerheart Records, the lineup consisting of Gustav Ryderfelt, Birk Castenmalm, Pavel Lindegren, and Alphonse Bouquelon offers their third album, "Aberrations".
Stockholm death metal is a crowded graveyard, but "Aberrations" stakes a claim with absolute authority. Xorsist doesn’t beg for approval; they drop a heavy, suffocating slab of old school violence right on your chest. The HM-2 buzzsaw guitar tone is front and center, raw and defiant, capturing the exact sonic template pioneered in Sweden decades ago.
The songwriting on "Aberrations" shows immense growth since "At The Somber Steps Of Serenity". "Rest Impending" kicks open the doors with immediate, suffocating aggression, establishing a pitch-black atmosphere that defines the entire release. The dual vocal assault from Gustav Ryderfelt and Birk Castenmalm provides a relentless, guttural back-and-forth that amplifies the darkness. "Souls To Mourn" and "An Elegy Unfolds" display great mid-tempo pacing, where the riffs lock into a crushing groove, dragging the listener into a bleak abyss.
Alphonse Bouquelon drives the rhythmic engine with precise, devastating drumming, avoiding overproduced modern triggers and focusing purely on momentum. The lead work by Pavel Lindegren on tracks like "His Shrouded Gaze" injects eerie, melodic phrasing into the assault, adding depth without compromising the overall savagery. "Disbelief" and "Memorial Cries" (as another “Dreaming In Red”) close out the album with massive, apocalyptic chords and relentless pacing. The production balances classic HM-2 filth with enough separation to hear the bass anchoring the low end. It is a fierce, uncompromised masterpiece of pure Swedish death metal.
|8.5
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