Soulsborne Metal!

Like any great dark fantasy series Dark Souls and metal are a match made in heaven (or hell), and it’s baffling that it took this long for a band to come out with this much of an overt Souls influence behind them and their lyrics.

NOTE: Being a recently formed, and one-man project, there are little in the way of photos to use.

Hailing from the coastal city of Gulfport, Mississippi, STONE FANG have self-released their debut EP on June 9th. Founded just last year in 2022, information on the band is scarce. The group is the brainchild of “Metas”, the band’s sole permanent member.

In an interview with Filthy Dogs of Metal, Metas stated that some of his premiere musical influences lied with Mercyful Fate (which is obvious, once the record begins), as well as Satan, Diamond Head, Manilla Road, and even Night Demon. Being a one man show for right now, the band is not currently touring or playing shows, though Metas stresses that he looks forward to it.

REVIEW

Every few weeks, I scour the Encyclopaedia Metallum for upcoming releases and bookmark them for later. It’s how I’ve found many a great band lately, LUZIFER, OUIJABEARD, DOUBLEGEDDON, and the list goes on, and STONE FANG is another that I can add to such esteemed company. For a one-man project, with only a solitary single prior to this one, …Into the Baneful Fog is shockingly well crafted and produced (all done solely by Metas himself). In fact, the only other person involved with the record, according to my research is Caylen Darling of black metal band HEKSEBLAD, who contributed the album art.

Kicking things off is “Irrevocable Poison”, a track that starts slow with synths that would feel right at home in an 80s dark fantasy film, and is littered with some spoken word about soul devouring demons (you know, typical metal stuff). The main riff is slow and methodical, and just rocking enough to bang your head a bit. It’s a 2 minute intro track that does little more than set up the rest of the release, but that’s not a bad thing!

Next up, the first proper song “Boletaria’s Plight”. If you’re curious, Boletaria is, to my knowledge, the name of the world from the Dark Souls series. Opening up with a groovy riff that led into our first taste of Metas vocals, which fluctuate between falsetto and rough grumbles. He wears his King Diamond influence proudly, and I think he holds his own quite well. This is a mid-tempo track, with some great riffs and solidly dark lyrics. The synths return to close out the rack and usher in…

“Valiant Warriors”, which starts off with a solid riff before Metas belts out a battle cry in the name of the track title. The lyrics are a true standout on this one. Like any good metal song, it felt like the words were telling just as much of a story as the music itself. This one didn’t quite hit with me the first time around, but on a relisten, I dug it quite a bit.

Following that, we had “Maiden in Black”, which was the band’s debut single release in 2022. A nice proper banshee wail to set things off, and some really solid and heavy riffage ushering in the first verse. It’s another decently paced track, but with some excellent lyrics. Plus, the first proper solo of the record, and it’s a nice little doozy, one that still has that bluesy flair that 70s/80s metal solos had, and that we sorely lack today.

Next up, the penultimate song, “Half-Living Sentinel”, which is an instrumental piece that starts slowly, but with some slick, albeit brief, guitar work intermixed within. It’s a nice little respite from the rest of the album, even without the vox, like an intermission.

Finally, we come to “The Monumental”, which feels as much like an early MERCYFUL FATE song as any on the record. The chorus is an earworming shriek, with some awesome little keys afterward that I just love. This track is littered with gnarly riffs, the one starting at around 3:20 was just perfection early 80s metal. This was easily the standout song of the entire release. If you listen to anything from …Into Baneful Fog, it had better be this one!

CONCLUSION

All in all, this debut from STONE FANG was a nice little treat! The vocals definitely work for me, but that KD vox style isn’t for everyone. Some particularly nitpicky listeners might even go so far as to say that it’s a bit derivative of KD/MF, but it’s a debut release, from a one-man project. For that alone, I’d say that …Into Baneful Fog is a solid EP from a new artist. I recommend!

TheNWOTHM Score: 8/10

STONE FANG
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092645290334
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stonefangheavymetal/
Bandcamp: https://stonefangheavymetal.bandcamp.com

Stone Fang interview with Filthy Dogs of Metal: https://www.filthydogsofmetal.com/interviews/interview-with-stone-fang