Seeing bands try different things and even slowly morph their style into something else entirely is just the sort of thing that keeps me crawling back to certain bands time and again. From acts like Esoctrilihum to The Re-Stoned, it’s always fun to hear new things. When I first heard Oryx’s sophomore album earlier this year, I honestly was not expecting a follow-up so quickly! And despite this EP containing but two tracks, they have so much to unfold and so much versatility to throw around from beginning to end.

A lot of the time, you tend to hear how many bands’ earlier material tends to be heavier than their more recent stuff. We see it all the time in bands that have been around for decades now where many people regard their earlier works as heavier and much more aggressive, and while I’ve no idea if Oryx will be on a more aggressive style approach with their future material as they are with “Born Into Madness” but there’s nothing but promise and treasure to be found here! With these two tracks covering over nine minutes each, Oryx doesn’t let a single second go to waste as at every possible turn they managed to shove so much intensity and chaos into these eighteen minutes the likes of which I never would’ve expected from their previous. Sure, “Stolen Absolution” wasn’t anything to scoff at in terms of intensity by any means, but it’s with “Born Into Madness” that Oryx manages to channel something else completely. There are loads of riffs and hooks sunk beneath the layers of sheer power that Oryx have at play here the likes of which are truly intoxicating and I can only see this act capitalizing off that in the grandest of ways as should they play their cards right, Oryx can make a real name for themselves with this uncompromising style of pure sludge.

I wouldn’t have faulted Oryx if they fell short of something great with this EP given it’s not their tenth album or anything that’s taken decades to lead up to, but this is executed with such mastery it’s hard not to go head first into. Should “Born Into Madness” just be the start of things, I can see me crawling back Oryx every single time they dish something out.

LISTEN to “Born Into Madness” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Oryx on Facebook here.