MOUNTAIN WIZARD DEATH CULT – VITRIFY (3 TRACK EP). Dark, heavy, chaotic, melodic and absolutely perfect. As reviewed by Mark. J.

March 15, 2026

MOUNTAIN WIZARD DEATH CULT – VITRIFY (3 TRACK EP). Dark, heavy, chaotic, melodic and absolutely perfect. As reviewed by Mark. J.

Fuck yes.

I walked out of Max Watts after they opened for YOB a few weeks back feeling... hungry. The riffs were colossal, that thick Sydney sludge fog rolling over the pit like it always does, but the whole set felt like it was still shaking off the new skin. New singer Elliot was spitting fire, the fuzz was choking the room, but the pieces weren’t locking in the way I knew these bastards could. Intriguing? Hell yeah. Cohesive? Not quite. I left muttering, “They’ve got more in the tank.”

Then Vitrify landed, and it’s exactly the tank I was begging for.

Three tracks. No filler. Just pure, ugly evolution. At its rotten core it’s still the doomy sludge that made them legends in the Blue Mountains holes and Sydney basements, but they’ve jacked it with post-metal adrenaline, mathcore tangents that come out of nowhere and punch you sideways, and chaotic metalcore bursts that feel like the band is barely holding the wheel. Moody as a winter grave, abrasive enough to peel paint, and somehow still weirdly captivating – like you can’t look away even when it hurts.

Cornered kicks the door in like a three-minute riot. Frenetic drum fills, riffs that don’t wait for you to catch up, and Elliot’s raw roar coming in huge right after the build. It’s short, mean, and sets the tone: this ain’t the long slow-burn epics of old. This is urgent. This is pissed.

Then Ash Into Glass hits, and everything I wanted from that live show suddenly makes sense on record. This is the huge second track that swallows you whole. Dark, grim, almost suffocating in places, but it keeps dipping into these slight, haunting melodic moments that sneak up and gut you. The tangents – man, the tangents. One second you’re buried in sludge, next there’s a mathy twist, a post-metal swell, a chaotic breakdown that feels like the whole band is screaming in different directions at once. Depth for days. Layers on layers. Creative genius dripping off every riff. This is a deranged anthem of unhinged and emotive brilliance.

Luminar closes it out like a slow exhale after the beating. Starts quiet, almost pretty – clean notes floating over a hypnotic beat, ghostly echoes in the back – then it builds, cleans turn to screams, everything crescendos, and it fades into this low-chord hypnosis that leaves you staring at the ceiling wondering what the fuck just happened. Perfect comedown.

Mountain Wizard Death Cult have always had the mood and the skill, but this EP is where the pieces finally click. The new blood, the new writing, the new hunger – it’s all here, raw and unfiltered. If the live show with YOB was the intriguing teaser, Vitrify is the main event. Dark, heavy, chaotic, melodic in all the right wrong places. Exactly what the underground needed in 2026.