If you’re a fan of music from the likes of Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean and Thou, and have a passion for folklore and dark fantasy, then the new EP from Blackstaff is the one for you. Drowner is a gem of a record, equally brilliant in its storytelling and its music.
The story here is based around the Will-o’-the-Wisps or ‘hag lights’, as the band’s only member and driving force Dustin Cleary outlines: “In the story these lights lead unwitting travellers deep into the swamp… some are pulled down and consumed or made undead; others are delivered to the swamp’s true master, to suffer and be harvested for parts.” The EP is made up of three songs, each one flowing seamlessly into the last, and in doing so forming one epic tale.
Opener “Swamp Lights/Drowner” sets the tone for the EP. The song’s introduction is brooding and slow-burning, with a dark and dingy sludgy tone that invokes images of the swamp pulling in its unwitting victims as they head to their demise. The song takes up half the EP’s runtime, and over the course of its ten minutes covers a swath of extreme metal influences.
The record is a real metal melting-pot. Each blastbeat, each use of electronic instrumentation, every guttural growl, each riff, and every cleaner singing passage is used to bring the story to life, add extra dimensions to the storytelling, and give the record a great depth. You would be forgiven for thinking this was a four-or-more-person setup and not just a solo effort given everything that’s gone into the record.
“Godlike” is straight death metal goodness, before the EP and its story come to a brutal conclusion with “Flesh Golem”. No spoilers here; you’ll have to give it a listen to find out how this one ends.
Blackstaff isn’t content with giving the listener an awesome EP; they’re also building you a world and a story to get lost in while you listen. Stick this one on and get lost in it.
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Drowner is released on 10th July 2026
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