Heads for the Dead – Never Ending Night of Terror

Released through Pulverised Records, Never Ending Night of Terror is the eagerly awaited fourth full-length album by Heads for the Dead. Founded in 2017, Heads for the Dead is a quite productive international death metal band composed of Jonny Pettersson (guitars, bass and keys), Ralf Hauber (vocals), Matt Moliti (guitars) and Evan Daniele (drums).

Apart from the fact that this new ten-tracker features the addition of new drummer, the aforementioned Evan Daniele, Never Ending Night of Terror is their first release since 2023 EP called In the Absence of Faith.

Never Ending Night of Terror contains 41 minutes of a solid slab of death metal, with ten new tracks, including the final track named “Witchkrieg” which is a tribute to Italian prog-rock act Goblin. I don’t have a single favorite track from Never Ending Night of Terror (as I enjoyed the album as a whole!), but I can tell that the album as a whole is very creative and coherent piece of extreme metal where the quartet makes a creative blend of horror atmospherics, keyboards and melody and an increased brutality at some point too. It’s all wrapped in this strong sound, with very strong yet heavy production (with a nice thick punch, giving it a modern sound while staying rooted in classic furious and visceral death metal), and well-written songs that combine classic and modern death metal elements.

Tracklist:

1. The Vastness Of Time

2. Death Mask

3. Phantasmagoria

4. In Disgust We Trust

5. Never Ending Night Of Terror

6. Give Me Life

7. The Harvester

8. The Shape Of Light Bleeds Black

9. To The Very Last

10. Witchkrieg (Goblin Tribute)

The songwriting is characterized by some well-written, creative and effective songs. Some of the common features are cutting and chainsaw riffs, corroded (often hoarse, rough and raspy) vocals, crushingly heavy bass and punishing drums, while the use of ambience and occasional keyboards evokes a sense of cinematic dread.

Meanwhile, the album successfully creates a horror atmosphere (mostly haunting, brutal and grotesque) through its music and lyrics, which are inspired by classic horror movies. Other keywords in regard with this release are; coherence, variation and identity, creating their own signature sound.

Never Ending Night of Terror may not reach perfection, but it’s probably the most powerful and diverse release from this band. It is a worthy companion for long, dark and grim winter nights here in Scandinavia.

Especially recommended for fans of horror movies and visceral death metal inspired by movie soundtracks, but also the likes of Necrophagia, Tribulation, early Paradise Lost, Pestilence, Gorefest, Hail of Bullets etc. For additional information on this particular longplayer visit label’s bandcamp or band’s own facebook page.