DISTANT is a new thing for me. The band is international, with their homebase being Rotterdam in The Netherlands. In the twelve (!) years of their existence they have managed to give us four EPs ("Slither" in 2015, "Tsukuyomi" in 2017, "Dawn Of Corruption" in 2020 and "Dusk Of Anguish" in 2021), but also four studio albums ("Tyrannotophia" in 2019, "Aeons Of Oblivion" in 2021, "Heritage" in 2023 and "Tsukuyomi: The Origin" in 2024). Musically DISTANT are a Deathcore band with some Dutch members, while the rest are from Slovakia.

Now I have been listening to the new single "Spirit" and I have to say that I'm liking what I hear. Yes, this is undoubtedly Deathcore, but I have a feeling that there are a lot of fans of contemporary Death Metal that will be able to enjoy this just as much. In just under three minutes the band gives you a blast of energy that will have your ears standing to attention. As it is that short, there is no way to know whether this is the way the band usually operates, but I have to admit that I do like the slower heavier parts in combination with what happens when DISTANT decided to ramp up the speed. Somehow the band has the interaction between the two exactly spot-on.

What makes all of this extra good to listen to is the outstanding and almost pompous sounding production. It gives the music of "Spirit" another dimension. I think I need to warn you listeners not to turn this up too loud in your car, as I'm afraid that it will cause your car windows to be blown to smithereens. The conclusion I have to make is that I enjoyed listening to this single by DISTANT. So much so that I'm very much inclined to find out how the rest of their material sounds.