Review by Sam on July 14, 2026.

Not only is Poland home of The Pagan Vastlands, but it has also been a fertile breeding ground for some of the finest formations the death metal genre has to offer since the late 1980s. Here we have Neolith, with their latest offering, entitled Inbir, available September 12th of this year on the Deformeathing Production record label. These dudes have been at it since the early 90s, with two members having a three-decade-plus tenure, so tight musicianship, professionalism, and crystalline production are at the top of the ticket for their new album.

If you like blasting, aggressive death metal with lyrical themes of ancient Sumeria, you're in the right spot. After a brief yet torturous intro of wretched moans over a subtle om-vibration, a snappy drum fill erupts into the madness of the opening and title track of the record. Drummer Semuss has only been with the group for a couple of years, but his performance throughout Inbir is one that would put a smile on the face of an Asheim or a Sandoval. On this opening track, he expertly navigates the miasma of tremolo aggression by seamlessly modulating between an up-tempo 6/8 meter and half-time 4/4 with a triplet feel, one of the all-time great templates for crushing extreme drumming. As the piece works toward a chaotic crescendo, an understated choir effect can be detected in the background, heightening the reverence for the ancient ones.

Second track 'Ashur Has Given Me A Brother' is notable for its vertigo-inducing lead guitar over the blast-assault of the drums. The commanding vocal performance of Grzegorz Łukowski, a death metal lifer and original band member, is unrelenting in its brutality and calls to mind a certain extreme metal dignitary who goes by the name of Piotr. The bass is buried in the mix for the duration of the record and never really given a chance to sing, which may be a disappointment for some. For those who are curious, Ashur is the supreme deity of the ancient Assyrian empire, and Inbir is the word for war in the primordial Sumerian language.

'Modlitwa Na Marny Czas' (Polish for A Prayer For Lean Times) starts out with a sinister yet meditative spoken word bit in the band’s native tongue before the violent onslaught ensues. Within this piece, Semuss treats us to some creative ride cymbal accents and patterns over his barrage of double bass, culminating in a jazzy snare pattern which augments the grandiose atmosphere of the song, and the menacing spoken word prayer returns to close it out. It's always refreshing to hear some vocal dynamics in the aggro land of death metal.

'Ouroboros' rips into being with a highly technical drum fill replete with double bass. Man, this drummer is absolutely inexorable, and he must be in peak physical condition. I've no doubt that if I were to play drums this violently on a day-to-day basis, my beer gut would dissolve in no time. At the 2:45 mark, there appears another spoken word piece, only this time pitch-shifted down to the abyss, reminding me of early Entombed or Dismember. This is followed by a highly melodic tap riff, some of the finest work to be heard from the six-string section.

Closing track 'Morte' is the slowest piece to be found on Inbir, almost bordering on death/doom territory, but this variation in tempo adds an element of heft to the overall devastation, allowing the 32nd note kicks to breathe. This song offers a rather magical guitar solo over the lumbering crunch of the motif, lending a tone of finality to the album. To sum up, we've got eight tracks and about forty minutes' worth of old school death metal here that should be pleasing to the ear for fans of Vader and Morbid Angel.

Rating: 8 out of 10 snakes devouring their own tails