Review by Sonny for Fossilization - Advent of Wounds (2026)

Fossilization are a band that have grown on me over time. I wasn't initially too enamoured with their debut EP and their first full-length "Leprous Daylight" took a while to click. I have put this down to elevated expectations as old-school death metal played by the guys from one of my favourite death doom acts, Jupiterian, should have hit harder, I felt. So going into sophomore "Advent of Wounds" I am more realistic with my expectations and feeling better disposed to it as a result. First thing to note is that there has been some changes in lineup since "Leprous Daylight" was released. Drummer Paulo Pinheiro left in 2024 and the percussion on "Advent of Wounds" was handled by guest Felipe Veiga, a veteran of several brazilian acts, most notably techdeath crew Scenic. Guitarist, bassist, vocalist Vakka (Thiago Oliveira) has also added a second guitarist with Fernando da Silveira, aka Zozi, from São Paulo thrashers Blackning joining in 2025.

"Advent of Wounds" clocks in at a touch under 36 minutes, following its predecessor with a short and (not so) sweet approach. It retains the intensity of the debut, but this time around the songs feel better written, with a bit more going on and they drop into doom-ridden territory more often here, a move which will always gain favour from me. Second track, "Disentombed and Reassembled by the Ages", for example, charges and rages initially like a rabid rodeo bull before being slowed down by a mountainously heavy, doomy groove whilst "Scalded by His Sacred Halo" opens with a pulsing and vertiginous riff that is ever so slightly unsettling, then hits a burst of blasting before descending into an almost funereal pace, ending with another surge of intensity that blasts like an open furnace door. Elsewhere, "While the Light Lasts" opens with another unsettling riff that seem to threaten dissonance whilst never actually tipping over the edge into full-on disharmony and also features multiple changes in tempo.

The album as a whole sounds generally heavier than the debut, mainly due to a deeper and richer production, but I suspect it is also due to the addition of that second guitarist. Vakka's vocals sound even deeper and more abyssal than ever, also stripping away flesh like a blowtorch when called upon as things increase in tempo and intensity. It is the quality of the songwriting and in particular the riffs, which seem much more memorable and varied this time around, that marks the biggest improvement for me. This is much more like the kind of album I expected from the band first time around and now it seems like the lofty expectations for them I initially had are being realised.