Photo by Cristian Danner
Watch WRAITH’s “Over The Top” video HERE.
“Over The Top” is the newest single from Indiana-based blackened thrash/speed metal behemoths, WRAITH. The smoldering new hymn comes by way of the band’s World War I-themed Descent Into Darkness full-length, slated to drop on November 13th through Prosthetic Records.
An ominous bass line crawls beneath a creeping guitar groove on “Over The Top.” Vocalist/guitarist Matt Sokol sneers, “Go,” and the track kicks into high gear. It captures the anxiety and tension of soldiers in a foxhole hanging on for dear life as a menacingly melodic lead pulls them back to the front.
“It’s my interpretation of what it would be like to go ‘Over The Top,’ which is the military expression for entering the battlefield from the trenches,” he sets the scene. “This character isn’t sure what’s going to happen, the whistle blows, and it’s time. The momentum of the track is similar. It goes from slow and plodding to fast.”
Watch WRAITH’s “Over The Top” video HERE.
Watch WRAITH’s previously released video for “Final Warning” HERE.
With WRAITH, what you see is what you get. Favoring focus and fire over frills and flash, the Indiana quartet – Matt Sokol (vocals, guitar), Jason Schultz (guitar), Chris Petkus (bass), and Mike Szymendera (drums) – summons the speed of old-school thrash through a prism of 21st century extreme metal accelerated at a breakneck pace. The Midwest-bred outfit allows the riffs, solos, furious beats, and haunting lyrics to speak on their behalf, conjuring imagery with the high-octane action of a big-screen historical epic.
In their decade of existence, WRAITH has amassed millions of streams, played to packed houses both Stateside and abroad, and earned critical acclaim from the likes of No Clean Singing, MetalSucks, and more. “With more hooks than a chartered fishing trip and all the rough power of an electric sander, WRAITH have surely delivered one of the top thrash albums of 2024,” gushed Distorted Sound of their previous full-length, Fueled By Fear (2024). “The music is fast, raw, sneering, everything that it should be, and every member of WRAITH performs in top form, never missing a beat,” agreed Boolin Tunes.
And in 2026, the band delivers their uncompromising and undeniable sixth full-length LP, Descent Into Darkness. The musicians recorded Descent Into Darkness with co-producer CJ Rayson. More than ever, Sokol leaned into inspiration from his day job as an educator, rooting much of the album in World War I. The process provided an opportunity to fully step inside of the subject matter he teaches on a daily basis.
“I majored in history, and now I’m a tenth-grade history teacher,” he notes. “I find a lot of inspiration from certain eras, so Descent Into Darkness is heavily themed around WWI. Most of the songs pull from some battle or phase of conflict. Even the artwork depicts a WWI battlefield with a reaper in the clouds. We’re telling stories from various perspectives. I’m interested in what these events were like for the people you don’t necessarily read about: the folks working in the mills or the soldiers who didn’t want to be there. I try my best to envision the experience within the music.”
“It’s relentless,” says Sokol. “It’s fast, but it’s simultaneously crushing and heavy. When we play, it’s lean and mean. We definitely let the music do the talking.”
In an early review of the record, The Song Review echoes the sentiment, “Digging in their heels, they’ve entrenched themselves in the perfect middle ground between Seasons In The Abyss-era Slayer and Behemoth at their fastest. At the same time, these Midwest marauders wield history like a weapon, mining subject matter like WWI as inspirational fodder thanks to frontman, vocalist, and guitarist Matt Sokol’s job as a high school history teacher.”
Ultimately, WRAITH makes thrash with the potential to endure. “We’re doing our best to push the boundaries,” Sokol concludes. “I’m immensely proud of this body of work. We’ve matured, but it’s still a WRAITH record.”
Descent Into Darkness will be released on CD, LP, and digital formats. Find preorders HERE.
Descent Into Darkness Track Listing:
- Descent Into Darkness
- Final Warning
- Atomic Queen
- Terminal Embrace
- Over The Top
- Misery And Malice
- Lord Of Wolves
- Chainscraper
- No Man’s Land
- Back In The Trenches
WRAITH:
Matt Sokol – vocals, rhythm guitar, leads
Mike Szymendera – drums, backing vocals
Chris Petkus – bass, backing vocals
Jason Schultz – rhythm guitar, leads, backing vocals
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