Metal, Hardcore, Indie, Rock
Today, BLKIIBLK is proud to announce the signing of Phoenix, Arizona death metal force Eternal.
With 2024’s highly touted ‘Cryptic Lust’ (Carbonized Records), the four-piece drew an avalanche of praise from the death metal underground. The Resident Sound called ‘Cryptic Lust’ “incredible,” singling out its combination of old-school death metal vocals and thrash-metal crunch and recommending the album to fans of Cannibal Corpse, Testament and Gorement.
The album also caught the ear of Spirit Adrift/Neon Nightmare frontman Nate Garrett, who praised Eternal‘s “memorable songwriting” and the band’s razor-sharp intersection of the classic early-’90s Scott Burns-era sounds of Obituary and Deicide with the thrashier old-school fire of early Entombed, Sepultura and Testament.
Spearheaded by frontman/guitarist Emilio Ortega and drummer Xander Bridge, Eternal have been doing things very much on their own terms since forming in 2021, self-producing and mixing their releases including 2022’s ‘Forsaken Memories’ EP, 2023’s ‘Faceless Evil’ EP and ‘Cryptic Lust.’ Still in their 20s, Eternal have already carved out a serious footprint for themselves and, more importantly, have the songs to distinguish them from an increasingly crowded old-school death metal underground.
They’ve backed it up live as well, touring the U.S. with fellow Arizonans Gatecreeper and sharing stages with the likes of Possessed, Vader and now-labelmates Nunslaughter.
Ortega comments on what’s to expect of Eternal‘s newly forged alliance withBLKIIBLK:
“We looked beyond our direct influences, tracing things backwards to what inspired the bands that inspired us and finding ways to make those ideas our own. We’re pushing ourselves further than we have before. We’re incredibly proud of where it’s going. We’re excited to be sharing this with a new label partner but most importantly, our fans.”
“’Cryptic Lust’ was an undeniable record, and the band backed it up live, no question,”says BLKIIBLK and Frontiers Label Group Head of A&R Mike Gitter. “They’re worshippers of the classic Morrisound sound that is part of the foundation of death metal itself, but that’s just the beginning. ETERNAL understand riffs, they understand songs and, most importantly, they know how to write the classics like very few of their contemporaries can even approach.”
Eternal are currently putting the final touches on their second full-length and BLKIIBLK debut, due in 2027, but before that they’ll take another major step forward with their first European tour this October, joining New York death metal legends Suffocation alongside UK slam overlords Ingested and Undeath.
For Eternal, one statement is and shall always be: “Life is temporary. Death is Eternal.” Expect nothing less.
Eternal Live:
