Dysgnostic’s four-year hiatus has come to an end.
Sticking with Transcending Obscurity Records, the Danish band led by Thomas Fischer (bass/vocals, Apparatus, Elitist, ex-Defilementory), Simon Kannegard (guitar, ex-Defilementory, ex-Encyrcle), Richardt Olsen (drums, Carbon Tomb, Wrath of Belial, Imperious Mortality), and Mads Gath (guitar, Crocell, Heaven’s Damnation, Urkraft) is releasing its second album, End Whispers, in 2026.
The Last Refrain begins with an ethereal touch before the sound literally explodes, revealing all its violence beneath the guise of extreme technicality in every instrument, while the vocalist roars. The track is, however, quite short, naturally allowing Into Salvation’s Night to follow suit and offer its dissonant notes in much slower, suffocating passages that provide a rhythm to the waves of aggression tearing at our eardrums. Traces of Black/Death metal can be heard in these hazy, unsettling yet rather majestic moments, then the sound becomes chaotic with The Black Sun taking over with an apocalyptic yet theatrical and gripping approach, which becomes slightly more jerky in its final moments while remaining impressive. The approach is more or less the same on End Whispers” a shorter but no less massive and ferocious title track that doesn’t hesitate to unleash its fury before the band grants us a moment of respite with Ignis Fatuus, a track that starts off very gentle but ultimately becomes haunting and melodious despite the dissonance. Ethereal harmonics are never far away, whether from the guitars or the bass, just as on Feast of Emptiness, which takes the time to captivate us between two dark, heavy waves that strike us relentlessly, weaving their complex riffs at a brisk pace. We move on to The Shattered Timekeeper, which offers a similar approach, both in terms of technicality and raw power, but also delivers more ethereal passages, such as the finale that leads into Orphaned and Abandoned and its soothing introduction. The mysterious touches become increasingly prominent before suddenly erupting, sometimes returning to their original tranquility only to launch into violence once more, creating an intriguing contrast that carries over into Glimpses of a Lost Horizon, the final track where the band takes the time to build an unsettling atmosphere before exploding and sweeping us away in its aggressive surge, but a saxophone brings us back to our senses, offering its offbeat and macabre touch before the heavy final.
End Whisper picks up where its predecessor left off, allowing Dysgnostic to strike with full force, whether through complexity, violence, or a skillful blend of both, recreating that oppressive and dissonant tide of darkness that we loved the first time around.
80/100
