STORMCROW: Enslaved In Darkness Vinyl LP (Remaster 2024)

There is a strain of crust punk that does not want to be found. Stormcrow spent most of their existence operating in that space, and Enslaved In Darkness is the document that proves they were right to.

Originally released in 2005, this Italian stenchcore outfit built their sound at the intersection of Amebix, Bolt Thrower, and the kind of D-beat that leaves bruises. Stormcrow were never interested in accessibility. Enslaved In Darkness is dense, apocalyptic, and earnest in the way that only crust punk at its most committed can be, riffs that lurch and crush, vocals buried in smoke, a general sense that the world outside is already ash. The 2024 remaster brings it back without softening anything that made it difficult in the first place. That restraint deserves respect. For followers of the dark aesthetic and underground metal, this is essential recovery work on a record that deserved wider ears the first time.

Original release: 2005. Genre: Crust Punk, Stenchcore, D-Beat. Country of origin: Italy.

Fans of: Amebix, Bolt Thrower, Neurosis, Tragedy, His Hero Is Gone.