Skaphos – The Descent

Skaphos is a French abyssal death metal band formed in 2018 and signed to Transcending Obscurity Records. The band from Lyon is comprised of; Stéphan Petitjan (vocals & guitar), Théo Langlois (bass & backing vocals), Jérémy Tronyo (guitar & backing vocals) and Nathan Faure (drums & percussion). The band has released three albums: Bathyscaphe (2020), Thooï (2022) and Cult of Uzura (2025), merging the eerie dissonances of black metal with the sheer heaviness of death metal.

Now, this highly productive French-born quartet is dropping a new full-length album titled The Descent, through Les Acteurs de l’Ombre Productions on April 10th 2026. The album revisits the band’s early material, specifically tracks from their first two full-length records, Bathyscaphe and Thooï. It comprises eight tracks and lasting 33 minutes.

On The Descent, Skaphos still perfectly combines black and death metal in a very violent and edgy way. The sound is massive with brutal and dissonant riffs, menacing rhythms, tortured screams/creepy noise vocals, pounding bass lines and relentless drums. Lyrically, they continue to explore maritime and Lovecraftian themes, while maintaining their penchant for horror and disturbing atmospheres. Stand-out moments include the aggressive opener “Nese Ende”, simple and minimalist track named “Mireborn” (watch the video below) and the atmospheric crushing final “Mariana Tomb”.

This French combo definitely knows how to create an astonishing, dark, disturbing and mythical atmosphere. On the cover art, Skaphos is inspired by the works of the great H.P. Lovecraft, which is obvious when having a look at the band’s artwork from the very beginning to this latest opus. Unfortunately, the production on The Descent overemphasizes the melody, and therefore seems a bit weaker, resulting in a clearly unbalanced sound especially when it comes to the drums, often overwhelming and unbalanced.

After first spin The Descent may sound like less inspirational than its predecessor, Cult of Uzura (2025), but on the other hand, this isn’t just another black/death metal record you half-listen while bench-pressing. It’s an experience, a deep look into psychological and physical depths, and a very sick human brain.

In summary; The Descent is a logical continuation of band’ discography, a step closer to a more melodic approach, while simultaneously an undecided step into more dissonant territories. It’s a solid album for those of you who want violence with some melodic depth and the likes of Immolation, The Great Old Ones, Behemoth, Hate, Sepulchral Curse, Akhlys and other similar atmospheric and terrifying blackened death metal bands.

Further information and pre-orders for all formats of The Descent can be placed here, whilst the official music video for the first single “Mireborn” is available for viewing below.