Press materials by courtesy of Grand Sounds PR
DEF/LIGHT – Stygian Conclave
Album | 19/09/2025
43:47 | 10 tracks | Digital
Blackened Death Metal
Ukraine / Israel
Almost a quarter of century has passed since DEF/LIGHT were originally formed in Ukrainian city of Dnipro. A lot has happened since 2001, and the current form of DEF/LIGHT is a duo operating from Ukraine (Void: music and production) and Israel (Avel: vocals and lyrics). In May of 2025, they have published the five-track EP Eternal Reign on which DEF/LIGHT introduced the listeners to the first four books of an infernal saga. With Stygian Conclave, their fifth longplayer and their eighth release in total, DEF/LIGHT continue the theologian narrative by adding eight further books.
Apocalyptic Groove
The short introduction The Silence Crowned is followed by nine tracks that spew acid, hellfire and venom. DEF/LIGHT invite their audience to a painful sermon that praises the end and a transgression into nothingness. This merciless march through purgatory might nevertheless be an experience of awakening as it ends with Book XIII: The Resurrection Of Self. Anyways, this is a journey at the edges of the abyss defined by hardships and suffering. Stygian Conclave leads the listeners through the fires so they can rise like a phoenix.
Compact and various
Stygian Conclave is a musical box of the pandorah. On the surface it may appear like a very typical black and death metal release: grooves, staccati, satanic themes, bingo. But once you dive into this narrative it unfolds its versatile form. Frosty atmosphere covers the scenery while heavily venomous motifs define the main plot. And amidst the field of tension between brachial riffing, frozen guitar leads and blizzards from the drums, a multi-layer narrative evolves. The apocalyptic themes of Stygian Conclave might very likely refer to personal stories of people who had to go through hell to find themselves.
With these thoughts in mind, DEF/LIGHTs latest release is a deep and meaningful album. Stygian Conclave is a musical journey into the chasms of humankind and back again. And, it is a powerful display of contemporary black and death metal.
We will dance again
Mia Schem
