DESOLUS - Dwellers Of The Twilight Void (Review)

Written by: Blackie Skulless

Washington D.C. thrashers Desolus hit the scene a few years ago, and while I can’t pretend they took me by storm, I also can’t pretend that I wasn’t impressed with their thunderous debut album System Shock. Remaining in the same lane for their second time around, they’ve followed things up with the same Teutonic vibe. Titled Dwellers Of The Twilight Void, things stick to the same structure as well, flying by in shorter blasts for a digestible ride.

It should then be no surprise that what’s before us is a pretty familiar formula. Brash attitudes captured under a backbone built on speed work as the musical foundation, topped with nasty shrieks that combine a blackened undertone with moody snarls. If there’s much worth noting of difference, it’s that higher falsettos are a little more common this time around, and weirdly, the production almost feels dirtier rather than cleaner. Otherwise, you’ll find most moments of note when a slower cooldown or riff-driven bridge takes over, which I enjoy most when vocals are part of that, such as in "Trespass The Threshold."

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We’re all familiar with the saying “don’t fix what ain't broke,” but out of the gate it’s worth noting that that saying has a shorter shelf life with some styles than with others. As lucky as our thrash pioneers got with working on a pretty blank canvas, revival groups such as Desolus really could benefit from escalating once nailing that influence. Wonderful as all of the songs here are played, there’s not much that really grabs my attention save for the moments mentioned in the former paragraph. You may think that the harsher vibe gives it the slightest bit of evolution, but the difference is quite mild. Should there be but one exception, it may actually be “Threading The Atom” due to its punkier, streamlined vibe, and I could see an evolution this way faring nicely.

Otherwise, I see little reason to revisit this, and I get a lot of what I’m looking for in the debut album. Dwellers Of The Twilight Void is not a bad record by any stretch of the word, and I’d still encourage genre fans to give it a spin. Just keep expectations manageable, and be glad that it’s at least a brief listen.

Desolus - Dwellers of the Twilight Void was released May 15th, 2026. Find it here.

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Desolus can be found at Bandcamp and Facebook
Cover art by Bo'o Pablo