Back in 2020, Decibel Magazine premiered the Rise of the Merciless EP from New Jersey death metal duo Dystopia A.D.. In that piece we wrote: “Formed in 2018, Dystopia A.D. incorporates dizzying prog into their combustible compositions. Their Designing Ruin debut introduced the versatility of Chris Whitby, who elevated his one-man project with contributions from a variety of skilled musicians. One of those allies was Aki Shishido, who has since joined the project as lead guitarist.” Today we are sharing the band’s frenzied new full-length Doomsday Psalm, which will be officially released this Friday, December 2nd.
Dystopia A.D.’s penchant for pulling inspiration from the full spectrum of death metal continues with even more creativity on this new album. Some projects suffer to establish a musical identity with so much variety in their sound. But Doomsday Psalm dismisses that concern, emerging as a dynamic and focused record. Out of the gate, “Imperial Dawn” introduces a hellscape of lethal riffage and poignant cautionary lyrics. The title track is bruising and catchy, with gentle clean vocals periodically haunting the song. “Terminal Lucidity” permits a quiet moment between passages of absurd heaviness to highlight the call of a loon. “Force-fed Soma” concludes with a trumpet’s brass tone. Later, flutes flutter with their own solo on “As Skies Collapse.” But none of these choices should shock listeners who have tuned into the band’s previous work. Experimentation with different songwriting elements remains a crucial part of Dystopia A.D.’s mission, and this is their finest creation yet. It’s an album that’s eclectic and bold by design.
“Doomsday Psalm embodies everything that we love about metal and its varied subgenres,” Dystopia A.D. comments. “It’s really a spiritual successor to [2020 release] Rise of the Merciless; we took everything that we thought worked well on the last record and magnified it. Technical riffage and cohesive songwriting provide a suitable canvas for soaring guitar solos and stand-out vocals that range across ’90s Swedeath growls, blackened shrieks, haunting choirs, hardcore screams, and ballsy cleans. Alternative instrumentation, including 12-string acoustic guitars, flutes, and Latin percussion add layers of unexpected depth and complexity. As a listener, you might love Doomsday Psalm, or you might hate it, and that’s okay—but we promise you won’t be bored!”
Jump-start the apocalypse by pressing play on Dystopia A.D.’s Doomsday Psalm below.
Pre-order Doomsday Psalm on Bandcamp HERE
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