{"id":231381,"date":"2026-02-17T18:01:01","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T17:01:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.angrymetalguy.com\/?p=231381"},"modified":"2026-02-21T20:58:04","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T19:58:04","slug":"phasma-purgatory-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.angrymetalguy.com\/phasma-purgatory-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Phasma – Purgatory Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Sometimes an album comes around ye olde promo pit that looks and smells familiar, but plays like something else entirely. Today’s entry into the “what the heck am I actually listening to?” hall of infamy is Phasma<\/strong>’s Purgatory<\/em>. The third record from the Greek\/US duo, and the first carried by a label\u2014our beloved Transcending Obscurity Records\u2014Purgatory<\/em> continually subverted every expectation I had. In doing so, it became one of my biggest pleasant surprises in recent memory.<\/p>\n

While early Phasma<\/strong> works boasted a songwriting style and sound that evoked a grotesque Whitechapel<\/strong><\/a>\/Vampire Squid<\/strong><\/a> lovechild, Purgatory<\/em> is a charred and venomous affair of only a tenuous relation to that concoction, and all the better for it. Conjuring a vision where Vimur<\/strong><\/a>, Harms Way<\/strong><\/a>, and Crypts of Despair<\/strong><\/a>’s first two albums merged into one mangled mass, Purgatory<\/em> writhes and slithers through an unholy collection of brutal riffs, immolating tremolo flares, and swaggering grooves. While Phasma<\/strong>’s vocal approach largely carries over from early works, pairing a guttural roar with piercing screeches, but minimizing previously prevalent items like subterranean gurgles and glass-shattering squeals, it takes on an altogether more intimidating character here. Instead of showing off the full range of technical skills and range as this unit had to prove on their self-titled debut, Phasma<\/strong> took Purgatory<\/em> as an opportunity to be as mean and concise as possible.<\/p>\n