Polish death metal duo Dormant Ordeal has been around since 2008, and has three prior albums under their belt, but they are a new act to me and newly signed to Willowtip for their 4th album.

Much like fellow Poles Redemptor or Trauma, Dormant Ordeal plays a form of distinctly Polish death metal with traceable hues to the likes of death metal era Behemoth, early Decapitated, Hate, Lost Soul, Vader, and such, but with a more technical death metal lean, and boy does it rip, and is arguably one of my favorite death metal album released for far in 2025.

7 of the songs on this 9 song beast (there is an outro and an outro) are cleverly and intricately crafted, balancing blistering, razor sharp tech death, crumbling dissonance (there are a few Ulcerate-ish hues here and there such as the end of “Horse Eater” and ‘Solvent”) a few grooves, and labyrinthine, crafty melodies. Vocalist Maciej Proficz has a more mid range rasp/growl as opposed to a more guttural or deep bellow, but it works. But composer/ guitarist/ bassist Maciej Nieścioruk steals the show with his song writing and slicing, technical but visceral riffs.

The intelligently delivered brutality captures my attention at every turn, and is a nice break from pure slam beatdowns and symphonic deathcore that I’m currently mired in. From “Halo of Bones” to “Everything That Isn’t Silence Is Trivial” is about as captivating of a death metal album that I have heard in the last couple of years. I kept coming back to ‘Disillusion (Circa the Back to Times of Splendor) playing technical, Polish death metal’ as the comparison I made in my head.

Every song is a standout, but certainly “Horse Eater”, the eight-minute more atmospheric “Solvent”,  (replete with massive Hans Zimmer ‘paaaaaaaaarppps’), the absolutely killer “Dust Crown” (the main riff that start thirty seconds in is *chef’s kiss*) and “Against the Dying of the Light” really caught my ear and kept me coming back as they are some of the best tech death/death metal songs I’ve heard recently.

Dormant Ordeal, has been one of my favorite new death metal/tech death discoveries, and I’ve grabbed all of their past releases. If you enjoy death metal but with a more intellectual, but still blistering approach, you need Dormant Ordeal‘s Tooth and Nail on your life. Now.

[Visit the band's website]

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