From the cold coastal city of Kalmar, Sweden, a new force in extreme metal has risen with uncompromising intent. Deathkrush, a band forged in raw aggression and dark imagination, arrives with their debut full-length album, Plague Protocol, a nine-track descent into sonic chaos and prophetic dread. The record is more than a collection of songs; it is a conceptual journey that imagines the collapse of modern civilization under the weight of an unstoppable global catastrophe.
Plague Protocol positions Deathkrush as bold new architects of death metal and metalcore extremity. The album pulls listeners into a dystopian landscape where borders vanish, governments fall, and humanity confronts its fragile illusions of control. Each track functions like a chapter in a grim narrative, building an atmosphere of impending doom through relentless riffs, thunderous percussion, and ferocious vocal performances.
The album makes its mission clear. Deathkrush does not deal in subtlety or restraint. Their sound is massive, abrasive, and meticulously crafted for maximum impact. The guitars carve through the mix with a tone that feels engineered for dread, thick, sharp, and suffocating. Beneath them, the drums operate like a war machine: blast beats erupt into mid-tempo grooves, creating constant shifts between speed and crushing heaviness. This dynamic tension keeps the listener locked in a state of adrenaline and anxiety.
Deathkrush presents a dual-pronged assault. Shrieked tremolo highs collide with guttural, cavernous roars, forming a layered delivery that feels both primal and calculated. The result is a voice that embodies the album’s theme,s part human, part monstrous, completely unrestrained. Lyrically, the band dives into subjects of inner collapse, cosmic terror, and violent transformation, using the metaphor of disease to explore how quickly order can dissolve into madness.
The title track, “Plague Protocol,” serves as the thematic centerpiece of the album, capturing the band’s vision of a world brought to its knees. It is here that Deathkrush’s identity crystallizes most clearly: relentless yet melodic, chaotic yet purposeful. Across the remaining eight tracks, the band expands on this foundation, delivering waves of punishing intensity while maintaining a strong sense of structure and atmosphere.
What makes Plague Protocol particularly striking is its balance between brutality and accessibility. While firmly rooted in death metal ferocity, the album incorporates towering choruses and melodic passages that give the songs emotional weight. Deathkrush understands that true heaviness is not just about speed or volume; it is about mood, tension, and the ability to make the listener feel something deep and unsettling.
Beyond the music itself, the album represents a statement of intent. Deathkrush is not simply another band chasing genre trends. They are building a distinct sonic identity,y one that respects the traditions of extreme metal while pushing toward something darker and more cinematic. The record feels like both a warning and a beginning, a declaration that this Swedish collective is here to stay.
For Deathkrush, Plague Protocol may be the crown jewel that describes the end of all things, but it is also just the first step in a much larger journey. The band has crafted a debut that demands attention and respect, proving that from the underground can emerge something genuinely formidable.