{"id":488317,"date":"2026-02-18T17:16:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T17:16:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/488317\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T17:16:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T17:16:09","slug":"desoration-non-review-angry-metal-guy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/488317\/","title":{"rendered":"Desoration – NON Review | Angry Metal Guy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Self-releasing an album is a monumental effort. Between production, distribution, artwork, press, yadda yadda yadda, the logistical weight quickly consumes vast amounts of time, money and energy. And that\u2019s before you factor in the arduous task of creating music that\u2019s actually fucking good. Indeed, for a young band, initial encounters are everything, which means it behooves one to ensure everything is as polished and professional as possible. Desoration understands this. The Christchurch, New Zealand five-piece submitted their debut album, NON, via AMG\u2019s contact form, catching my eye with their professional-grade press kit. Since their 2020 formation, the group has been refining their identity, with 2024\u2019s Apotechnosis EP introducing Desoration\u2019s techy blend of melodic death metal. NON aims to take this to a new level, weaving symphonic textures into their deathly foundation alongside a narrative that charts a protagonist\u2019s descent from modern despair into an otherworldly transformation, culminating in their emergence as a \u201cnemessiah\u201d who brings about the total annihilation of the corporeal plane. Will NON\u2019s ambition be a non-starter? Or will it be a non-negotiable addition to your playlist?<\/p>\n

Puns aside, NON frequently oscillates between melodic death and symphonic black metal. Tracks like \u201cCorporealisation Threshold,\u201d \u201cDeadened and Scarified\u201d and \u201cExcoriating Reality\u201d channel the guitar-forward spirit of Omnium Gatherum or Mors Principium Est, while others are forged in the cold 90s-era symphonic black mold of yore (\u201cBlack Dawn,\u201d \u201cThe Befouled Ziggurat of Non\u201d). Desoration even finds room to pepper in the punchy, rhythmic grooves of Lamb of God (\u201cBeyond the Veil of Sleep\u201d) or the operatic brutality of Fleshgod Apocalypse (\u201cSingularity Ritual,\u201d \u201cInteritus the Herald of Ruin\u201d). Regardless of NON\u2019s stylistic lean, Desoration fortifies every note with pinpoint accuracy, as high-velocity picking, assaulting blasts and syncopated chugging underpin dramatic synchestral flourishes. The orchestral arrangements act as NON\u2019s nexus, fueling the record\u2019s kinetic energy with both urgency and dramatic intensity. Though Desoration\u2019s sound doesn\u2019t break new ground, the formula works as a whole, relying on instrumental prowess to keep the listener locked in.<\/p>\n

\ufeffNON by Desoration<\/a><\/p>\n

Great albums live or die by their songwriting, and the writing on NON is solid. \u201cSingularity Ritual,\u201d \u201cThose Who Dwell in Darkness\u201d and \u201cInteritus the Herald of Ruin\u201d thrive on sharp hooks, cavalry-charge gallops and solos brimming with bright, sweeping scales that put Desoration\u2019s talent on full display. \u201cCorporealisation Threshold,\u201d in particular, reaches its zenith during a synchronized closing battery of percussive riffing and double-kick work. It\u2019s a necessary jolt of energy that arrives just in time, delivering the adrenaline spike I found myself chasing through the preceding tracks. While the writing isn\u2019t perfectly consistent across all eleven songs\u2014\u201dBeyond the Veil of Sleep,\u201d for instance, lacks hooks and \u201cBlack Dawn\u201d is far too long\u2014NON overcomes these lulls through Desoration\u2019s sheer talent and an obvious command of the melodic death sound.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Favoring a synthetic sheen, NON\u2019s main weakness is its production. While a sterilized production style is a common aesthetic that many bands seemingly adopt for convenience, here it results in an overly digitized sound that quickly becomes tiresome. In fact, I spent my entire time with NON craving the dynamics Desoration abandoned in the editing room. Aean Campbell\u2019s vocals are adept and hit all the standard death beats, but they sit so far forward in the mix that they drown out much of the instrumental nuance, particularly the guitars. The biggest tragedy, however, is the drums. Bennett Jones\u2019 performance itself is stellar, but the tones are a disaster. The toms sound thin, and the cymbals are a wash of static. It honestly sounds like they plugged in a Roland electronic kit, hit \u201crecord\u201d and called it a day. It\u2019s a shame that low-effort tones bury such high-level playing. I understand the necessity of working within tight constraints to achieve a pro sound on an indie budget, but production this over-processed takes a toll on my feathery ears.<\/p>\n

Desoration is a young act that radiates promise and NON proves these Kiwis possess the pedigree to compete globally. It\u2019s frustrating that the production prevents the album from reaching its full potential. However, if you can look past this blemish, you\u2019ll find a good melodic death record with solid songwriting and impressive performances full of symphonic carnage. NON firmly establishes Desoration as a group to watch.<\/p>\n

Rating: Good
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: PCM
Label: Self-Released<\/a>
Websites: desoration.bandcamp.com<\/a> | desoration.com<\/a> | facebook.com\/desorationmetal<\/a>
Releases Worldwide: February 6th, 2026<\/p>\n

\n\tGive in to Your Anger:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Self-releasing an album is a monumental effort. Between production, distribution, artwork, press, yadda yadda yadda, the logistical weight…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":488318,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[10968,10612,64,63,11492,246817,134,239642,45770,218674,246818,41347,174283,136,156853,246819,246820,228,229,95062,38362],"class_list":{"0":"post-488317","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-10968","9":"tag-3-0","10":"tag-au","11":"tag-australia","12":"tag-death-metal","13":"tag-desoration","14":"tag-entertainment","15":"tag-feb26","16":"tag-fleshgod-apocalypse","17":"tag-lamb-of-god","18":"tag-melodic","19":"tag-melodic-death-metal","20":"tag-mors-principium-est","21":"tag-music","22":"tag-new-zealand-metal","23":"tag-non","24":"tag-omnium-gatherum","25":"tag-review","26":"tag-reviews","27":"tag-self-released","28":"tag-technical-death-metal"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=488317"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488317\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/488318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=488317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=488317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=488317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}