heavy-metal-darkness: Blackwater Drowning |Obscure Sorrows |Bleeding Art Collective/Blood Blast Distribution

Thursday, March 5, 2026

Blackwater Drowning |Obscure Sorrows |Bleeding Art Collective/Blood Blast Distribution

Release Date February 27^th, 2026
Format CD/Digital
Genre Melodic Death Metal, Metalcore
Country United States

Blackwater Drowning comes out of North Carolina tearing up the pit as a five-piece melodic death metal and metalcore squad. Singer Morgan Riley and guitarist Jeremy Bennett started the whole thing. They brought in Ron Dalton Jr on second guitar, Aria Novi smashing the bass, and Aamon Dalton blasting the drums. They dropped two early EPs and their first full-length "Sonder//Satori" a few years ago. Since then, they shared stages with heavy hitters like Soulfly, Jinjer, and Crypta. Now they return swinging with "Obscure Sorrows", getting Cryptopsy axeman Christian Donaldson to handle the mixing desk and Giannis Nakos to paint the cover art. Guitar shredders Greg Burgess from Allegaeon and Japanese master Yo Onityan drop in for guest solos.

The music smashes straight into your skull with total hostility. They blend raspy, blackened vocal attacks with massive grooves. The guitars deliver serious riffage. Melodic leads weave through the brutality, giving you plenty of reasons to snap your neck. Lyrically, they attack crazy folklore like La Llorona, old curses, and real-life miseries like depression and death. The aggression stays absolutely vicious. The orchestration adds massive layers to the violence. Everything impacts with intense force.

You get a serious dose of heavy music here. The drumming crushes skulls with relentless blasting and heavy double kick patterns. Riley tears her vocal cords apart with massive screams and deep growls. The two guitars rip through frantic thrash sections and heavy breakdowns. Sometimes the slower melodic parts drop the adrenaline a little too much. The songs have massive hooks, keeping you engaged through the violence. The production sounds aggressive. Donaldson gave them a huge wall of sound.

"Obscure Sorrows" delivers the goods for anyone who lives in the pit. It brings plenty of violence and neck-breaking riffs. Blackwater Drowning stepped up their songwriting game on this release. The guest guitar solos rip hard and add extra fire to the tracks. The orchestration makes the whole album sound absolutely huge. You will definitely trash your living room listening to this one. Blackwater Drowning came to destroy.

Score: 7.5