Italian blackened metal punks Stygian will release their debut album “Dreadlands” on July 4th 2025 via Time To Kill Records.
Hailing from Ravenna, the band delivers a searing hybrid of crust punk and extreme metal—tense, raw, and brutally honest, yet layered with dramatic melodic overtones. Their songs are short and punchy, but never rushed, allowing their ideas to unfold with deliberate intensity.
The band commented:
“‘Death Rite’ delves into the primal instinct for survival and the visceral connection to ancient rituals of power and dominance. Through brutal yet sacred imagery, the lyrics tell the story of a protagonist raised in the wild, devoted to hunting and violence as means of self-assertion. A fateful encounter with a “stranger” becomes the catalyst for a gruesome ritual, culminating in the consumption of the victim’s body and the symbolic assimilation of their strength. The track evokes a vision of primal, instinct-driven humanity – stripped of moral constructs – where the thirst for power and the intimacy of death merge in an uncompromising act of sacrifice”.
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1. Death Rite 2. Endless Hunger 3. You Will Not Survive This Night 4. Runic Ritual 5. Burning Mires 6. Shadow of a Massacre 7. Falling God 8. Unholy Ways 9. Spirit in the Mist 10. Where Dead Men Stand |
“Dreadlands” explores the contrast between two spiritual worlds: the harmony-centered pagan traditions and the legacy of Abrahamic religions, which often channel humanity’s most violent instincts. While pagan rites served to express and contain primal forces, maintaining balance between humankind and nature, monotheistic dogmas have frequently justified war and destruction in the name of faith. This work stands as a tribute to life, to the sacred bond between people and the natural world – a bond shattered by centuries of religious conflict.
A powerful fusion of black metal and crust punk, the album is steeped in ritualistic intensity and ferocity, encouraging deep reflection on what has been lost in the struggle between spirituality and imposed doctrine.
