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KARLOFF - Revered By Death
Available now via Dying Victims Productions - Karloff’s second album Revered by Death marks a decisive turn away from genre cosplay and toward something heavier in temperament. Formed in Oldenburg in 2018 as a side outlet for Tom Horrified, the band long ago outgrew the “metalpunk for fun” premise suggested by their early demo material. Where The Appearing clarified their identity, this record complicates it, with deliberate force.
The core remains a lead heavy, street level strain of metalpunk, but the motion here is slower, denser, and more oppressive. The result is not sludge, but a tension that rarely resolves. Songs “A Pessimistic Soaring” and “Die Wiederkehr der Dunkelei” establish a mood of restrained violence, built on compact structures that still feel unstable. The band’s strength lies in that instability.
Mid-album tracks stretch the atmosphere even further. “When the Flames Devour You All” sinks into a crawl before erupting into turbulent acceleration, while the instrumental “On Weathered Altar” abandons groove entirely in favor of deathrock unease, its chorus effects hinting at post punk without leaning too heavily on it. These moments deepen the album’s psychological weight without breaking cohesion.
Production hits raw, but with full control, with vocals sitting back in the mix, corroded and hostile, serving the songs instead of dominating them. Bass and drums carry more narrative force than anything else. Revered by Death feels somewhat like it’s deliberately unresolved, sometimes abrasive, occasionally disorienting. That tension is the whole point. Karloff are building heaviness through feel, mood, and threat. The album doesn’t relax the body or the mind… and it isn’t meant to.
SCORE 8.5/10
Words by LearnTwoExist
In collaboration with Headbangers Australia