Ingenuity, passion, and ambition can make for a combination the likes of which anyone can do just about anything with. When we take those qualities and thrust them into the writhing madness of the underground, it’s only a matter of time before we’re able to witness an act that doesn’t just tap into its own potential but blossom in something that is a true feast for the senses through whatever form it decides to adopt. In the darker reaches, the demented reaches of psyche are often at play with it just simply not common to see a name give that concept justice despite all that can be done. With what’s only the name’s second EP, Wretched Blessing quickly makes itself known as a force that’s able to do just that and so much more.

Even before diving into what this EP has to offer, it is made exceedingly clear that this is an act whose potential feels damn near boundless given who brings Wretched Blessing to life in excruciating fashion. A duo that has combined experience between the underground darlings of Yautja and Immortal Bird, that knowledge alone puts Wretched Blessing much further ahead of the competition with the actual material something that showcases precisely what kind of talent we’re dealing with here. Even in its smallest moment, “Psychic Barriers to Entry” is a force not to be trifled with. A direct assault upon the mind with the flesh immediately scorched in the process of such formless violence that seeks the very light of your soul, there’s a lot at play in an EP that runs for an unassuming sixteen minutes. Across seven tracks, Wretched Blessing does a stupendously impressive job at not just combining the dark art of the riff alongside a full-on offensive upon the shadow tricks that our minds play on itself, but a total masterwork that offers no mercy, compromise, nor blemish as Wretched Blessing goes all-in without so much as a moment of hesitation. A terrifying blend of black and death metal alongside more than a little bit of punk, it goes without saying that “Psychic Barriers to Entry” could have easily fallen apart yet it is in each given minute that this record proves itself over and over again as a work that’s as intelligent as it is overwhelmingly hostile. Simply deadly in its efficiency and sprawling in its imagination, it is the whole of “Psychic Barriers to Entry” that Wretched Blessing immediately makes itself known as a reality bender whose power is not to be taken lightly lest this duo snuff out your spirit before you even realize it. Even then, one must be careful when dealing with power as raw and all-consuming as this.

Disregarding what both of these talented musicians have achieved elsewhere, the talent and magnitude showcased here is not something that one can just overlook for one reason or another. A constantly seething creation that never stops moving in its own sinister purposes even in the smallest moments that seem as though Wretched Blessing has slithered back into some primeval hollow, the sheer force of “Psychic Barriers to Entry” is never far off to pounce once more.

LISTEN to “Psychic Barriers to Entry” on Bandcamp here.

FOLLOW Wretched Blessing on Instagram here.