THROUGH MISTS - Hellscape (Track Premiere)

Written by: The Administrator

At this stage in the game, a new Through Mists album spawning forth every few months feels like one of life's true constants. Moreover, there's a certain joy I derive from observing a fresh batch of Through Mists tracks careen into the promo pit, and the fact that it happens three to four times a year is truly a gift.

If the band name sounds familiar, there's a good chance you saw something here. This will be a record-breaking fifth premiere that we slumbering scribes have written for this prolific one-man proggy death/black/sludge juggernaut over the past few years. If nothing else, I hope that our own extensive Through Mists catalog serves as an indication that I'm personally a big fan of what he does.

Anyways! Let's cut to the chase and head hellward, shall we? This latest forthcoming album, appropriately entitled Hellscape, will be released on Dec. 6th. It may very well be the most abrasive entry in the Through Mists discography to date, and we are honored to premiere here the title track. Give it a listen below! As always, we'll catch you on the other side. 

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​Through Mists feels profoundly eccentric, and has always been defined by a discomfort--a permeating sense of eeriness and perhaps even unease. The vocals are typically tortured, bursting forth with a vomitory rasp and shriek. Not to be outdone, the riffs typically churn and prod, leaning into a lurching push and pull that feels deliberately constructed to ragdoll the listener. There's a general air of foreboding. The music is oddly maximalist even in the quieter moments, which in turn creates a listening experience that keeps you perpetually on your toes. Not a whole lot else that sounds like this, and while the jagged nature of the Through Mists aesthetic may be hard to swallow for some, I personally find this stuff utterly engrossing. It often feels raw and unhinged and powerful, and is instantly recognizable despite significant experimentation from release to release.

But even while discussing the discography at large, "Hellscape" feels uniquely raw and unhinged and powerful. It fires off with some jaunty keys that quickly take a turn for the eerie as the track builds towards the jarring emergence of vocals. "Hellscape" is a jittery and frantic track, almost carnivalesque in its see-saw bounce. This wouldn't go amiss as a soundtrack looping through the busted speakers of a funhouse deep in the bowels of Tartarus. I can only imagine that devils and demons frolic to music like this. It's a fun track, and while it may not represent the heaviest or most brutal moment on the project per se, it feels notably memorable. 

Speaking of the album as a whole, I'm pleased to report that Hellscape is an incendiary ripper. It serves as an excellent conclusion to the excellent three-album run Through Mists has delivered in 2024. 

Through Mists - Hellscape will be released Dec. 6th. Find it here!

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Through Mists can be found:
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