Kostas Salomidis is a renowned in Greek doom scene. He is a founding member of Sorrows Path but in 2022, after a few shenanigans Kostas found himself in the position of starting again. Working under a mystique away from the public eye, he launched Distorted Reflection with Doom Rules Eternally, the album coming through German label Iron Shield Records. It was a record that heralded the return of this Greek doom icon and was highly rated by much of the music press including ourselves.
In 2026 Kostas once again fires up the doom engine for another Distorted Reflection album. It's with this sophomore album we return to the Doom Zone, beginning with 3000 AD which features a guitar solo by Jack Starr (Jack Starr's Burning Star/Virgin Steele). He's a great special guest but these songs hail to the riff with Salomidis on guitar cranking them out across eleven tracks, with the influence of Sabbath and Candlemass looming like a spectre, especially in his vocals. Behind him is the grooving bass and occult synths of Vangelis Yalamas (Fragile Vastness), and the percussive thump of drummer Thomas Zen.
Distorted Reflection then is a heavy rocking doom trio, the production skill of Vangelis at Fragile Studio giving it an analogue sound that bristles with warmth and that crackle of a vinyl LP. Doom Zone is an epic doom metal record that continues the musical legacy of Salomidis, tracks such as the gothic Gates Of Paranoia, the crushing Love On Earth and Diminished go back to his early works while Asphyxiating and Certain Death bring thrash and sludge.
Nothing hangs around, this Doom Zone distils epic doom metal into four minute blasts of riffage, Doom Still Rules Eternally for Distorted Reflection. 9/10
Triumpher - Piercing The Heart Of The World (No Remorse Records)
You can call Triumpher a lot of things but lazy isn't one of them, debuting with an album in 2023, they quickly followed up with another in 2024 and now only a year and but later they are on their third. Another word you could use is consistent, as the mighty metal blade of Triumpher swings again with another record of epic steel forged from heavy metal traditions.
Taking as much influence from Manowar and Cirith Ungol as they do Celtic Frost and Mercyful Fate. Since their second record they've found themselves on some high profile stages and this has massively affected the scope of Piercing The Heart Of The World, from the tolling bell and orchestrations of Black Blood, it sounds bigger, that Manowar influence large and on charge in Mars Triumph's massive vocal range and the high-in-the-mix bass of Stelios Zoumis.
Classic metal fans will get tingles down their spine from the first track as this is a Sign Of The Hammer, Hail To England level record, with even the production/mix/master of Achilleas Kalantzis emulating those classic records. The Mountain Throne gallops along on Agis Tzoukopoulos and some traditional instruments, weaving a story through it's progressive changes of pace, where the black metal sound comes in with blast beats underscoring a bass solo!
Of course epic metal is nothing without riffs and guitarists Christopher Tsakiropoulos and Mario Ñ Peters have a bag full of them, from the melodic balladry of Ithaca (Return Of The Eternal King) and Vaults Of Immortals through the chunky The Flaming Sword and the thrashy Erinyes. There's a reduction of the black metal style on this third album but Triumpher continue to provide substance with their muscular consistency. 9/10
Phasma - Purgatory (Transcending Obscurity Records)
Time to get gnarly now with Purgatory the new album from Phasma, their third overall but their debut for Transcending Obscurity Records. In the for fans of section bands such as Dying Fetus and Psycroptic are named and you can definitely hear why as soon as you press play the first track I (each track is just the Roman Numeral for that number) that this is a rather complex but punishing sound.
Sitting smack bang in the middle of black and death metal, both sides of the extreme spectrum collide in a volatile explosion of mechanised brutality, industrial moments, groove metal breakdowns, blast beats and vocals that put screams with growls create a disharmony, that lends itself to the layered style of Phasma.
Purgatory is not a an easy listen it, there's a lot happening and none of it ever shies away from trying to be more extreme than the last track. It's a collection of improvisations where one track flows into another, drawing in these different styles for maximum impact. You have to love extreme music to get the most out of Purgatory, however you won't hear much this volatile this year. 7/10
Oath - Unteach (Self Released)
Some unashamed Iommi worship from Athens now as Oath crank up the fuzz for their debut full length Unteach. This Greek power trio play doom, heavy, fuzzy Sabbath worshipping, doom, recorded entirely live in their studio, this is a paean to the occult, lyrically driven by B-movie horror, witchcraft and the dogma of religion, the songs cut through with
Terrorcraft launches the record with echoed vocals, hallucinogenic riffs and lots of groove ala The Sword, Uncle Acid And The Deadbeats and Vol 4 Sabbath. It's got pace while My Second Life brings the tormented dissonance of Electric Wizard. They dedicate Evergreen Fields to Ozzy, while the bluesy Dies Capri features some guest vocals from Olia Fileri.
Sat under the tree of Sabbath, Oath fill their debut record with distorted riffs and haunted vocals, Unteach delivers on its promise of being a homage to Osbourne, Iommi, Butler and Ward, pledge an Oath to Sabbath. 8/10
In 2026 Kostas once again fires up the doom engine for another Distorted Reflection album. It's with this sophomore album we return to the Doom Zone, beginning with 3000 AD which features a guitar solo by Jack Starr (Jack Starr's Burning Star/Virgin Steele). He's a great special guest but these songs hail to the riff with Salomidis on guitar cranking them out across eleven tracks, with the influence of Sabbath and Candlemass looming like a spectre, especially in his vocals. Behind him is the grooving bass and occult synths of Vangelis Yalamas (Fragile Vastness), and the percussive thump of drummer Thomas Zen.
Distorted Reflection then is a heavy rocking doom trio, the production skill of Vangelis at Fragile Studio giving it an analogue sound that bristles with warmth and that crackle of a vinyl LP. Doom Zone is an epic doom metal record that continues the musical legacy of Salomidis, tracks such as the gothic Gates Of Paranoia, the crushing Love On Earth and Diminished go back to his early works while Asphyxiating and Certain Death bring thrash and sludge.
Nothing hangs around, this Doom Zone distils epic doom metal into four minute blasts of riffage, Doom Still Rules Eternally for Distorted Reflection. 9/10
Triumpher - Piercing The Heart Of The World (No Remorse Records)
You can call Triumpher a lot of things but lazy isn't one of them, debuting with an album in 2023, they quickly followed up with another in 2024 and now only a year and but later they are on their third. Another word you could use is consistent, as the mighty metal blade of Triumpher swings again with another record of epic steel forged from heavy metal traditions.
Taking as much influence from Manowar and Cirith Ungol as they do Celtic Frost and Mercyful Fate. Since their second record they've found themselves on some high profile stages and this has massively affected the scope of Piercing The Heart Of The World, from the tolling bell and orchestrations of Black Blood, it sounds bigger, that Manowar influence large and on charge in Mars Triumph's massive vocal range and the high-in-the-mix bass of Stelios Zoumis.
Classic metal fans will get tingles down their spine from the first track as this is a Sign Of The Hammer, Hail To England level record, with even the production/mix/master of Achilleas Kalantzis emulating those classic records. The Mountain Throne gallops along on Agis Tzoukopoulos and some traditional instruments, weaving a story through it's progressive changes of pace, where the black metal sound comes in with blast beats underscoring a bass solo!
Of course epic metal is nothing without riffs and guitarists Christopher Tsakiropoulos and Mario Ñ Peters have a bag full of them, from the melodic balladry of Ithaca (Return Of The Eternal King) and Vaults Of Immortals through the chunky The Flaming Sword and the thrashy Erinyes. There's a reduction of the black metal style on this third album but Triumpher continue to provide substance with their muscular consistency. 9/10
Phasma - Purgatory (Transcending Obscurity Records)
Time to get gnarly now with Purgatory the new album from Phasma, their third overall but their debut for Transcending Obscurity Records. In the for fans of section bands such as Dying Fetus and Psycroptic are named and you can definitely hear why as soon as you press play the first track I (each track is just the Roman Numeral for that number) that this is a rather complex but punishing sound.
Sitting smack bang in the middle of black and death metal, both sides of the extreme spectrum collide in a volatile explosion of mechanised brutality, industrial moments, groove metal breakdowns, blast beats and vocals that put screams with growls create a disharmony, that lends itself to the layered style of Phasma.
Purgatory is not a an easy listen it, there's a lot happening and none of it ever shies away from trying to be more extreme than the last track. It's a collection of improvisations where one track flows into another, drawing in these different styles for maximum impact. You have to love extreme music to get the most out of Purgatory, however you won't hear much this volatile this year. 7/10
Oath - Unteach (Self Released)
Some unashamed Iommi worship from Athens now as Oath crank up the fuzz for their debut full length Unteach. This Greek power trio play doom, heavy, fuzzy Sabbath worshipping, doom, recorded entirely live in their studio, this is a paean to the occult, lyrically driven by B-movie horror, witchcraft and the dogma of religion, the songs cut through with
Terrorcraft launches the record with echoed vocals, hallucinogenic riffs and lots of groove ala The Sword, Uncle Acid And The Deadbeats and Vol 4 Sabbath. It's got pace while My Second Life brings the tormented dissonance of Electric Wizard. They dedicate Evergreen Fields to Ozzy, while the bluesy Dies Capri features some guest vocals from Olia Fileri.
Sat under the tree of Sabbath, Oath fill their debut record with distorted riffs and haunted vocals, Unteach delivers on its promise of being a homage to Osbourne, Iommi, Butler and Ward, pledge an Oath to Sabbath. 8/10
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