Review: “Ancestral Lands Beyond the Antarctic Ice Wall” by Cavernous Maw

A collaboration between drummer Ben Fagerness (Gloryhole Guillotine, Graveslave, Astral Blood) and guitarist vocalist Niilo Smith, Cavernous Maw have been making Extreme Metal sounds in Minneapolis, Minnesota for the past couple of years. Having captured the imagination with their debut EP “Primitive” in 2025, the pair have continued to draw inspiration from nature, history, humanity and exploration combining influences from Black and Technical Death Metal sub-genres to squeeze some freshness into their old school Death Metal aggressive tendencies…

Drummer Ben Fagerness: “The Yeti Approaches the Wall was the first song we wrote for our next EP. It started as nearly all of our songs do, the two of us jamming in the practice space, locking onto a riff and expanding it. The arrangement and drum parts were carefully crafted to keep the energy flowing from beginning to end. Lyrically, the song is about exactly what the title suggests: a yeti approaching a wall. Whether that wall is physical or mental is up to the listener. We absolutely love this new EP record, and we hope fans will too. It’s a more mature expansion of our original vision. Fans can expect a lot more music from Cavernous Maw in the future”

If you had some kind of preconceived notion that because  Cavernous Maw are a two piece that this record would be some kind of rough and ready demo recorded on a potato in a crypt then rest assured that this sounds like it was created by a four piece in a studio that cost a pretty penny. Opening cut “The Yeti Approaches the Wall” is a real demonstration of prowess with savage vocals from Smith that have a glorious storytelling quality to them, subtle shifts in tone alongside some vicious drawn out death growled moments helping carry the tale in captivating fashion. Sonically there is a melodic streak running through the heavier riffs which ensures its not only catchy but surprisingly bouncy as well.

Smith brings a classic Death Metal vocal to match the lyrical narrative of “Choke to Choke“, a tale that feels like a serial killers fever dream. Fagerness brings a burst of blast beats before a surprisingly warm and vibrant virtuoso solo of Melodic Death Metal glory that is absolutely outstanding. How the pair have managed to inject such a moment without losing any of the darkness or energy of the piece blows the mind and will no doubt attract a few listeners who would have otherwise considered them in their usual wheelhouse.

Buried underneath the harsh vocals and Technical Death Metal tinged riffs there is a rich dark melody to “Forever and a Day” that gives the cut a surprising warmth despite everything being stacked up against that. Forget the cold, oppressive Death Metal atmospheres, this almost feels like a murder ballad even before the razzmatazz of a technical solo that is so good it will bring you back to this one again and again like it was an open tin of your favourite sweets.

The urgent yet surprisingly groovy “Onward to Salvation” flows like a river of white hot lava to an obsidian sea with rampaging drumming and blistering guitar work before the vocals arrive at the half way point as Smith spits blood. Another vibrant, technical solo is the cuts crowning glory and it has to be said you can just picture members of bands like Allegaeon loving this.

There is one last composition on this record which you won’t to end in “Ash for Bread, Poison for Rain” and it’s absolutely incredible. Building a mountain of atmosphere with gripping Death Metal sounds, the duo then bring passages of blast beats and banshee wails before bringing everything crashing down in blood and thunder fashion. Perhaps you don’t need another new band in your life but once you’ve heard this, resistance as they say, is futile [9/10]

Track Listing

1. The Yeti Approaches the Wall
2. Choke to Choke
3. Forever and a Day
4. Onward to Salvation
5. Ash for Bread, Poison for Rain

“Ancestral Lands Beyond the Antarctic Ice Wall” by Cavernous Maw is out 27th October 2026 and is available over at bandcamp