Exclusive Track Premiere: The Modern Age Slavery’s “The Reprisal Within”

In 2013, I fell in love with Italy’s The Modern Age Slavery, and I fell in love hard. How hard? Their sophomore album, Requiem for Us All, was my favorite metal release that year. I still listen to it on the regular all this time later. The album is just so fucking heavy and the songs are so fucking well-written as to be irresistible. I have waited for the follow-up with baited breath for more than four years.

That follow-up, Stygian, will arrive at last on November 24 via Innerstrength Records, and it is in every way a worthy follow-up to Requiem for Us All. The band could have just made Requiem for Even More of Us and fans like me would have perfectly satisfied, but they chose instead to challenge themselves. Whereas Requiem was almost entirely modern death metal, Stygian expands TMAS’ sound to include a wider array of styles and influences.

Take, for example, the first single, “The Reprisal Within”: it alternates seamlessly between swarming, nightmarish black metal and crippling deathcore chugs, and it’s got a guitar solo which will shred you like an explosion of broken glass to boot. The only things it really has in common with Requiem is that it’s cripplingly crushing and demands multiple listens. And it’s just the tip of the spear — wait ’til you hear the rest of Stygian!

MetalSucks is thrilled to debut “The Reprisal Within,” which you can check out below. Then pre-order Stygian here!!!