MYSTHICON is a Polish six-piece Blackened Death Metal band, formed in 2015. MYSTHICON is unique in a few different aspects. The most glaring of which is that this is their first release since they formed in 2015. With this release, it's only two songs and only one is an original composition. The band themselves is a super-group made up of members from VADER, LUX OCCULTA, HATE, and the controversy-filled BATUSHKA.

The album is titled "Into The Dark" and while only featuring two-tracks is some of the best Metal I've heard all year. The first track, the original composition, is the title track. It starts off with spooky, atmosphere filled wind sounds that set the mood. The sounds build slowly with the rest of the band coming in a little after a minute into the song. The vocals initially give off a funeral doom tone before the vocalists give way to that quintessential blackened death growl. The blast beats kick in shortly after to remind us that while this is produced very well with lower end guitars, it's still very much in the realm of Black Metal. There's an interesting interlude about halfway through the track which falls back to that atmospheric beginning and some clean picking guitars layered over the top. When the growls come back, they come back with a vengeance. The track ends the same way it began, fading out to the sounds of wind and a wolf howling in the distance.

The second track is a cover of a LUX OCCULTA song titled "Passing Away". This track is interesting as it adds in the classic BATUSHKA aesthetic of chanting monks. But like, badass chanting monks. The song blasts through with powerful drumbeat and tremolo picking and death growls. A few seconds shy of the five-minute mark, the drums shut off the blast beats in favor of a smooth roll and small breakdown bridge before kicking back into high gear and finishing the track on a high note.

I can't say enough good things about MYSTHICON. Their highs are extremely high and very few lows. My only gripe with the record is there isn't enough of it and while the cover track was cool, I would like more original material. I'm currently impatiently waiting for the next release.