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DUSKWALKER
Underground Forever

Black Lion (2024)
Rating: 7/10

If you’re not drawn by the striking cover art then you’re in the wrong game. I introduce to you the latest full-length album from Canadian death thrashers Duskwalker, who originally formed in 2015 as The Offering before a name change to their current moniker in 2018.

Loitering at the more contemporary edge of brutality, the Niagara Falls, Ontario-based combo delivers a sneering, crisp pace which involves snappy riffs, scowling vocals and frothing percussion. This is familiarity territory for the guys and for a lot of bands of this ilk, so don’t expect any surprises. Instead, just revel in the aggression as ‘Crippled At The Core’ ransacks the eardrums with frenzied axe work and a shift between throaty vocal snaps and deeper growls.

For me it’s guitarist John Robinson who steals the show as his solos spiral mischievously amidst the torrent of Cale Costello’s drums, specifically on ‘The Loss’. Strangely, before I spun this album I expected something simpler so I commend the combo for dazzling and frazzling my ears with a selection of tracks which offer varying styles, almost like a blackened Carcass with some streaks, while others veer towards a strong Skeletonwitch vibe, especially with Joey Scaringi’s vocals.

There are doomier aspects to ‘Inhaling The Dust Of Bone’ and some serious thrashing grooviness on ‘Posing Corpses’. Even so, the more old school style of thrashing isn’t completely ignored with ‘Never Going Back’ an example of how the band fuses rabid aggression with some Pantera-styled flab.

This sort of sound isn’t usually my thing but I enjoyed this album due to the variety of styles within, and I’m sure you will too.

Neil Arnold

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