Review: “Oblation ov Obliteration” by Nefas

Describing themselves as a Psycosmic Deathgrind act, Nefas is a collaboration between members of Cryptic Gallbladder Splatter, Bedlam of Cacophony, Teeth and Wax People, all of whom have vast experience across the Technical, Dissonant, and Mathematical landscapes of Metal. Horror stories brought to life with eerie, sinister and menacing hellscapes is the calling card of the American four piece on a debut EP produced, engineered, and edited by Samur Khouja (Regina Spektor, Witches Of God, Ossification) at Seahorse Sound Studios in Los Angeles, California. Erol Ulug (Mortal Wound, Teeth, All Out War) at Bright Lights Studio then mixed and mastered, leaving artwork to Moonroot Art.

Sometimes when it comes to records with such rich heritage one single player can dominate and ultimately the whole record can end up not living up to the hype. When it comes to “Oblation ov Obliteration” by Nefas however that is anything but the case. The spine juddering soundscape of “Xenomorphic” takes us down a nightmarish road and borders on the avant-garde, fusing together technical, dissonant and mathematical metal components to scramble your brain with shock and awe tactics. It’s the kind of bone rattling that makes you wonder what you just heard as Erik Burkhead-Fernandez delivers a demonic vocal performance of throat shredding storytelling, the polyrhythmic patterns that surround it creating utter sonic devastation. Growls and rumbles collapse the ear canals as the beasts awaken beasts and the cut stops on a dime just when you think it’s going to murder you in cold blood.

Track Listing

“Oblation ov Obliteration” by Nefas is out 27th June 2025 and is available over at bandcamp