Italian Black Metal band AFFLICTION VECTOR released their debut EP "Death Comes Supreme" this past September 2020. This 19-minute EP features five brutal tracks, mixing elements of Black Metal with Thrash and Death. A slice of harsh metal to punish your ears.

Opener "Voiceless Prediction" starts soft, like a whisper, before turning into a lengthy, dissonant intro, with tons of guitar feedback, weird ambience and percussive clashes from the drums. Once it gets going, it turns extremely jarring and raw. Although there is a steady rhythm and some riffing, due to the production and the vocal stylings it is mostly an abrasive, noisy track. Almost enchanting, still, as if the band was invoking some kind of evil spirit.

Chuggy, Doom-tingled guitars open "A Mere Illusion", and paying homage to its title, the track goes slow for a couple of seconds before turning into another mayhem. There is melody in there, buried in the noise. When things get a little bit quieter, the guitar evokes some kind of epic tune, closer to Classic Metal than the harsh Black Metal of the EP. It works to a charm.

"The Long Cold Rest" is a slice of driving, Thrashy Black Metal. A total banger, with kind of a groove to it. Meanwhile "Abandoned Into The Madness" goes back to the sound of the opener, as all hell breaks loose. Punishing your ears and your mind, AFFLICTION VECTOR goes really heavy on this one, the harshest of the bunch. The sound breaking, crackling as it gets impossibly loud.

Closer "At The Dying Sun" goes out in dramatic fashion, feeling even a little theatrical even if it follows the formula of the previous song. There is something to its manic ebb and flow, a dark energy trapped between tremolo picking. That evil spirit conjured in the first track has finally been released, and it is pissed! That is just how it sounds, lyrical content aside.

Overall, "Death Comes Supreme" is a solid debut EP, one that shows what AFFLICTION VECTOR is about, even if it does not add anything special to the genre, getting a bit lost into the trappings of this kind of music. Still, their energy is extraordinary and they sound downright evil. A band that promises more, even if it is still searching for a proper voice.