Embracing celestial bodies as markers along their desolate, suffocating journey to the far reaches of our solar system Milano, Italy-based death metal trio INTO DARKNESS present a concept album which muses upon the infinite depth of oblivion via squarely ‘old school’ style. Though it has been a ~fifteen year long road toward a debut full-length album ‘Route to the Outer Side‘ appears today via the right line-up and skill level necessary to execute its own ambitiously writ verve upon traditional niche-informed wares. In breaching the subject of outer space exploration the band’s work emphasizes both the horror and wonderment of the cosmos as reality fit for their doomed and thrashing vision of early 90’s Dutch death metal inspired craft.

Into Darkness formed as a trio circa 2011 by way of vocalist/guitarist Doomed Warrior (Araphel) alongside members of Sepulcro and Mefitic intending a form of ‘old school’ death metal inspired by North American and Dutch underground scenes of the late 80’s/early 90’s. Though they were likely named for a Polluted Inheritance album their sound has thus far evolved from raw, punkish and doomed sounds unto something closer to Asphyx‘ first two albums. All of those formative years are presented in order on their ‘2012-2018 Data Collection‘ (2025) compilation and you’ll find that by their 2018 demo tape that general vision had been secured by way of the vocalist/guitarist alone. This’d fed directly into their impressive second EP (‘Cassini-Huygens‘, 2023) when the artist was joined by folks from Extirpation and Thulsa Doom. When I’d given short review of the vinyl issue of that EP I’d praised their work as authentic in its pursuit of punishing ’til spaced-out ‘old school’ sounds.

Outer space exploration and phenomenon is the main subject of Into Darkness‘ lyrics though I would hesitate to described their intent as typically science fictive. The harsh reality of space exploration appears to inform their words and occasionally their atmosphere but from the perspective that the cosmos offer cold indifference, vast spaces which are difficult to comprehend much less explore. Don’t head in expecting a psychedelic/atmospheric death metal record or a half-assed ‘Starspawn‘ clone with hardcore riffs to suit the theme rather this is traditioned study of early 90’s Dutch death metal style (re: ‘Consuming Impulse‘, ‘The Rack‘, Pentacle‘s ‘Under the Black Cross‘) which fans of everything from early Morgoth to Skeletal Remains‘ first album should appreciate outright.

For the ‘old school’ death metal fandom forever obsessed with the past that’ll be enough information outright as ‘Route to the Outer Side‘ closely resembles the original/non-remastered sound of the aforementioned albums as Into Darkness thrash through this ~41 minute eight song record. The effect is unsurprisingly authentic and relatively straight forward to start per songs like opener “Jupiter” where the riff-count is high, pieces are wrought in movements and show a level of sophistication worthy of the actual early 90’s rather than the awfully devolved echoes folks starve through today. I’ll admit that I went into this one cynical beyond appreciating the brilliant cover art (via Claudio Scialabba of Vulture’s Vengeance) and had been pretty well struck in the face by a legitimate and enjoyable death metal record.

For these recordings the band’s line-up has been cinched to a trio which features returning drummer Santo (ex-Demonomancy) alongside Doomed Warrior as they are fresh off the momentum of their work in the former’s black/heavy metal band Araphel. Some of that work seems to bleed through here in terms of creating dynamic, often spacious compositions (see: “Saturn”) which communicate doom, dread and sojourn. This potentially includes input from their drummer’s Thulsa Doom bandmate Filippo (ex-Lurking Terror) who joins on addt’l guitar or may just be the result of several years of authorship leading up to an especially fine result. There are fine details which characterize each of these pieces and probably too many to discuss here but the bass guitar solo which opens “Uranus“, the doomed riff behind the final solo on “Neptune”, and the wildly kicked expanse of standout “Halley” appear to be the product of standards set well above-average for this brand of death metal in 2026.

The more ‘epic’ station established on Side B comes in appreciable contrast to the dynamically shot, restlessly thrashed through first half of the album where we find Into Darkness‘ longest and ~most melodic ideas hitting within those final three pieces. If we go all the way back to “Into Darkness” from the band’s first demo tape and then contrast that extended piece with the ~7-8 minute stride through “Halley” and “Pluto” we find both precedence and progression in both skill and vision. The former is more straightforward, a trotting mid-paced death metal piece blustered into form whereas “Pluto” derives its introduction from more of a heavy metal spirited step, eventually unfurling one of the more complex and varietal stretches on the album. Otherwise closing jam/title track “Route to the Outer Side” brings its own melodic edge, something I’d like to have heard a bit more of beyond a refrain or two within the final third of “Saturn”.

Though there was no real shortage of classics-bound bands inspired by similar acts during the ‘old school’ death metal revival of the late 2000’s/early 2010’s today a troupe of Into Darkness‘ quality is remarkably rare. With this in mind I’d excuse anyone heading into ‘Route to the Outer Side‘ expecting the usual deafness to death metal’s peak standards for composition, performance and the greater dynamism afforded the early 90’s evolutionary pillar but this is not the case. Even still if you weren’t all that impressed by their work in the past I’d suggest this one is a step into undeniably LP-readied material, a higher riff count, and a far more entertaining bout of action. Their sound/style and modus isn’t massively original but any fan of this particular niche should be impressed off the jump by fine work which expands that palette into admirable classicism. A high recommendation.

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