apanthropy

Warp Chamber
Benothing
Warp Chamber/Benothing
Carbonized Records
To Be Released: 11/14/25

Rating: 85/100

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1 – Warp Chamber – Warp III
2 – Benothing – Deathways
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Warp Chamber are one of the more interesting groups operating out of the west coast of the US, a regional scene that is nuclear hot in terms of talent, so standing out is something of an accomplishment. Founded in 2016, the Abdication of the Mind demo tape was issued in 2018, mind-crushing long-form death metal in the vein of Timeghoul, Demilich, and Blood Incantation. 2020 saw the release of the debut full-length Implements of Excruciation, which featured two new tracks and re-recordings of the two tracks that appeared on the first demo. Five years of silence since then.

Benothing were established in the depths of Finland in 2017. 2021 would see two independently released digital singles that would be followed by a formal EP issued through Everlasting Spew Records. The four song EP featured re-recordings of the first two official singles and two new tracks. Chaotic, frantic, and hyper-aggressive death metal fury, not purely technical, but featuring excellent use of complex riffcraft and great tone. Four years of silence since then.

Since this release is only two official tracks, I will address them in an informal manner.

November 14th marks the cosmic shattering of silence between these two bands, as Carbonized Records is set to issue a self-titled split between Warp Chamber and Benothing, uniting the mysterious American and Finnish entities for a 7” vinyl physical release. While each band contributes one track each, they’re not ‘throw away’ songs. These aren’t B sides, or stray songs left on the rehearsal room floor, but a legitimate return to form for two excellent death metal bands.

Apanthropy has supported Warp Chamber since the beginning, as you can read here. Abdication of the Mind was easily one of the best demo tapes of 2018, combining the rhythmic violence of early Suffocation with a compositional mindset focused on progressiveness that doesn’t lose its intensity, exuding riff barrages and exploring tonal textures that haven’t really been touched on since, maybe, the Panaramic Twilight demo from Timeghoul back in 1994.

Their contribution to the split is simply titled ‘Warp III,’ a crushing cut that runs past the five-minute mark. Single-note tremolo meets staccato palm-mutes in the intro phrase, blast beats and accented downbeats explode off the drums. Each shift in riff structure is marked with a volatile transition, such as the one that appears at the 55 second mark; explosive footwork that leads into an extended repetition of pure mosh-generating riffing. The use of disharmony in the note structures, particularly the barrage of harmonics, adds an immense amount of tension to the music. Deep gutturals remain the delivery mechanism on vocals and, unlike a great many other bands, the vocals aren’t always present, leading to extended sections of nothing but pure crunching riffs and tone.

One song simply isn’t enough. The current incarnation of the band is playing a tighter, more compact version of death metal, as opposed to the more expansive variation found in the first demo and most of the first LP, but most importantly, the writing and the playing continues to get better, marking evolution and forward progress. Hopefully, it won’t be another five years before we hear from Warp Chamber again.

Benothing contribute the track ‘Deathways,’ which is like pairing a fine bourbon with a good cigar, the pairing here is perfect. ‘Deathways’ covers a lot of territory in its short and miserable lifespan. Opening with expressive and intense riffing, the band get straight to the point with full blasting death metal right from the start. Vocals are an intense guttural bark and the guitar tone has a wiry twang to it, really allowing bends and tremolo to stand out. The song collapses into an ambient atmospheric nightmare about halfway through, creating a labyrinth of distressed vocals and clean guitars that build to a crushing resolution of screaming feedback and vocal chaos, riffs and guitar signals colliding with one another until it tempers down into just clean guitars, drums, and vocals again. Ending the song with the first phrase repeating itself just closes the circle of death this song creates. Much like the Warp Chamber side, one song just simply isn’t enough.

Both of these bands are musical anomalies in terms of both identity and sound and their return from the outer darkness of silence only serves to stoke a demand for more music. With both groups shirking all trends and forging their own unique sound, they’re strains of death metal deserve far more attention. Riff-forward and highly rhythmic, their generally high-speed execution simply does more for the listener than most bands can produce.

Combining Warp Chamber’s science fiction Hell with the cryptic chaos of Benothing was an absolute solid combination. 7” collectors, pick this one up.

Label: Carbonized Records
Band: Warp Chamber
Band: Benothing

AJK