Review by Alex Grindor on April 4, 2021.

From Russia, the anonymous collective known as Skorb will release their s/t EP in April, and it's a must-have for fans of extreme metal.

Taking the best elements of black, death and doom metal and molding it into their own ways, this EP has everything for fans of each style. From fast tremolo-picked riffs to crawling, crushing down-paced moments, the variety in each song is astounding. While the music may be rooted in doom metal for most of the time, there are moments where we are treated to blast beats frenzies of black metal and mid-paced headbanging rhythms in the vein of old-school death, with each track intertwining and shifting between these moments flawlessly.

In between these oppressive crushing tracks, some great dissonant melodies are thrown in that just elevate the scope of the atmosphere that one step further. Drums are excellent as well, as the person behind the kit knows when to crank it up to eleven and when to calm down to allow the music to continue its normal course. Vocals are really well executed, with a mixture of deep growls and shrieks and some clean vocals here and there as well, used in exact moments to enhance specific segments of the tracks. The best example of this would be the ending of track 1, 'Feeling Reborn', as the double bass pummels its way through the last moments, with the guitars delivering both a down-paced crushing riff and a sinister melody, all the while these vocals deliver anguished lines.

Citing Suffocation, Entombed, Portal and Mgła as their primary influences, and with over 25 minutes of music split in 5 tracks, Skorb has created a monolith of an EP, worth the time of any fan of extreme music. While some moments may feel repetitive, the overall experience is far greater than this minor gripe. Out on April 23rd, via Corrupted Flesh Records.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10