Deadly Magic - ...as Nightmares Gorged the Earth [EP] (2024)

4★

A side project of MESSERSCHMITT mainman Maik Jegszenties, DEADLY MAGIC debut with this nice little EP! A mix of power, speed, and progressive flavors, ...as Nightmares Gorged the Earth has something for everyone and will be sure to pack a punch in its short 24-minute runtime.

The first thing that caught my eye was the brilliant cover art; I'm a sucker for purple, so I always get excited when I see its inclusion, especially on trad albums! And it's a good thing to mention too, as the cover art pretty much spells out how the album sounds -- the Grim Reaper emerging from a red cosmic spiral, scythe in hand, ready to unleash celestial freedom upon the smoldering ruins of the Earth.

With the music's prog-tinged leanings, each riff strikes you down with a bludgeoning force before ripping you back up to smack you in the face. Vocalist Alexis Roy-Petit offsets this with his soaring vocals, akin to that of WATCHTOWER or TOXIK, allowing the guitar melodies to take flight alongside his verses like two eagles circling a land plagued by desolation. Both guitarists, the aforementioned Maik Jegszenties and Thorben Schulz, absolutely rip on this EP, with a solid balance of guitar acrobatics, technicality, and emotive feel. The rhythm section deserves a shout as well, with drummer Daniel Behle laying it down and bassist Yannic Zwinscher following close behind, creating this heavy and thunderous atmosphere for us to lie awake in. As for the songwriting, while definitely not the most original, it's very solid and would rival a lot of the best acts on the scene today.

Short and sweet, epic and exciting -- don't miss out on this one!

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FAVORITE TRACKS: “When the World Stood Still,” “It Ends Where it Began”

FOR FANS OF: Queensrÿche, Sanctuary, Fates Warning

Out on December 20th!

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