Darkness Everywhere - To Conquer Eternal Damnation

Darkness Everywhere is a melodic death metal band from Oakland, California who formed in 2020.  “To Conquer Eternal Damnation,” is their debut full-length album but they released an EP in 2022. 

The band’s sound incorporates thrash metal as well.  They balance speed and aggression with tight control over melodic textures.  Speaking of tight, this album is just 27 minutes long across ten songs.  There is no fat, nor filler, and every available second is used to push the album forward.  It’s focused, very well written, and does what it needs to do then leaves.  However, coming back to the album is very easy not only because of it’s shorter runtime but simply because the songs are that good. 

Overall, “To Conquer Eternal Damnation,” takes a classic approach to melodic death but that isn’t the only path the album treads. Their sound is wrapped but in a modern display of fervent metal that harkens back to a time when melody didn’t mean the music couldn’t be hard as hell.  

The album opens with “Retaliation,” and it’s thrash metal tempo.  The throaty vocals scream out anguish and guile while the music pushes itself towards a melodic segment that is catchy as hell.  The following solo is great too, one that is made up of emotion and actual notes instead of a bunch of flashy widdly wham. 

The title track begins fast as hell but very quickie opens its doors to melodic leanings that branch off the riffs in a natural way.  After the halfway point, a melodic romp bangs out the song until the end, the band having a firm grasp on providing an extreme sound with hooks.

“Starving Eyes,” begins the final half of the album with a galloping march of deadly precision.  The drums are especially important here, crisp and clear but on point with deadly accuracy.   The bass slaps hard too, unafraid to step away from behind the guitars and let itself provide that important low end backbone.

“Into The Unknown” adds in a bit of melancholic tapestry in the opening moments, using it as a base for the rest of the song to jump from.  It all sounds very smooth and ensures the song is a constant head banger. 

The final song, “The Tragedy of Infinite Loss,” also provides a bit of misery to the melodic thrash of the riffs but this song focuses on the lead guitar to highlight all the other instruments around it.  The band has excellentsynergy together despite how new they are to the scene but it pays off because this is my favorite song on the album.  

All in all, Darkness Everywhere’s “To Conquer Eternal Damnation,” is a solid example of the state of modern melodic death by a band that is already showing a lot of promise.  It is an album very focused on song writing and is enjoyable from start to finish, with no tracks that need to be skipped. This is a short but entertaining ride that is well worth many return visits.