From their EPK, “DESTROYERS OF ALL is a progressive death/thrash metal band from Coimbra, Portugal, founded in 2011. The band’s sound blends diverse musical influences from various styles ranging from thrash, death, and even black metal, to hard rock and progressive metal. With the onset of the pandemic and the lack of live shows, they shifted their focus to composing new music, resulting in the latest and most refined LP yet. The new album brings back the roots of its identity, prominently featured on the debut EP while pushing the progressiveness and aggression of the first two LPs. With the new album “In Darkness We Remain,” the band is ready to present its sound to the world and bring back its energetic live performances.

The album has ten songs, and “Welcome to the…” is first, and it’s a short instrumental mood setter, leading to “Ritual.” It has a Thrash blueprint, with deadly vocals that are tinged with Black or Death Metal. It explores somewhat, with meaty bass notes, some backing symphonics, and even some classical runs. “Insaniam” has a more hardened structure from a punishing riff and thick bass guitar notes, and once again, the band displays their songwriting talent by varying the landscape and not overly relying on one central riff. “Neurosis” has tenser tones at first, but from there, a brutal riff causes violence to the listener. There are also clean moments, and the transitions are spot on. Again, the prominence of the bass guitar notes is often something that many bands mix out.

“Gehenna” is a slow, punishing offering that capitalizes on ever-shifting riffs and vocals that sting. The lead guitar work is fantastic, and the backing vocals give the song an anthemic quality. “Cold” has a slower and more introspective sound, and the band is full of surprises, using old school keyboards here. “Guile” hears the album return back to Thrash/Death Metal, with a deep, cavernous sound that is even a bit groovy. Another thing that the band does well is playing with confidence. I feel like you could not knock them from their roost. “Closure” begins with a clap of a thunderhead, and this song has a bitter, depressive quality, but the lyrics speak of a hardened resolve.

“Reliance” is the final song, and the games are fully on. The riffs plow through rain, snow, and sleet, and keep picking. The Middle Eastern inspired clean guitars bring a completely different element along with them. Overall, this was an excellent album. The band keep true to their aggressive roots but were able to mix in several other elements to keep their sound fresh. They are also accomplished musicians that execute with confidence.