20. September 2025
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Media Review

Darkness Surrounding – Is There Salvation?

Florian Buechtingby Florian Buechting

Darkness Surrounding - Is There Salvation?

Darkness Surrounding - Is There Salvation?
4.1

Rating

 4.1/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Well structured songs
  • Very nice musical level

Flyctory.com Cons

  • Just four new full length songs

Wuppertal in Germany feels to have a very vibrant music scene. Rather recently, as part of my 8th August 2025 reviews, I feature the band Mess Machine and their EP Aftermath. Just six weeks later, on 19th September 2025, there is another major release from the city in the Bergisches Land region. The melodic death metal band Darkness Surrounding shares their Is There Salvation? I had a listen.

 

Darkness Surrounding – About The Artists

Darkness Surrounding has been founded in 2017. The band has two vocalists, Kassandra Kessi van Bajgars (also guitars) and Tim Daus. The other band members are Simon Adolf (guitars), Nico Schubert (bass) and Leonard Pott (drums). Their discography started with a self-titled EP in 2019. In 2021, Darkness Surrounding released their debut album Reality Unreal. Reality Unreal II released the same year was an EP only. Is There Salvation? is the German band’s sophomore album.

Darkness Surrounding – Is There Salvation? – Track by Track

The ten track album lasts 42 minutes.

1. Is There…

The album is called Is there Salvation?, the intro track is called Is there… – I am sure you guess the name of the outro already. 41 instrumental seconds guide you into the atmosphere of this album.

2. Old Minds Go Blind

The intro track felt sufficient to have a gentle beginning of the album. From the very first moment of Old Minds Go Blond, the band is spreading their dark sound. The guitars present energetic riffs, without neglecting the melodic elements in their sound. This is also reflected by the contrast between the vocalists. Tim Daus is the master of the dark sounds on the microphone at Darkness Surrounding, while Kessi adds harmonic elements. Overall, the album really starts with five entertaining, versatile minutes.

3. Choke On Your Mistakes

I could almost use the same words I used for Old Minds Go Blind for this song as well. Choke On Your Mistakes feels a bit faster, but is therefor also not as present as the predecessor. It is one of four Is There Salvation? songs which have been released before the album release already.

4. Achromatica

Achromatica has been the focus track of the recent album promotion campaign. The gap between the two vocalists feels smaller in here. The smaller contrast leads to a finer, more melodic listen. Nonetheless, the Germans stay in their genre and do not allow the song to get out of the metal bounds. This one is a well composed track with a good plot, which does not make the 5:24 minute song feel lengthy at all.

5. Virtue’s End

Despite Virtue’s End has been released in June 2025, it was the band’s first song release in 2025. The song comes with a rather quiet intro. Just when you have initial thoughts that the song might even be a ballad, Darkness Surrounding change the theme and rather head into their typical range of music. Nice.

6. Chained Eternally

Chained Enternally reminds a bit of the pre-decessor. However, the song has more hymnic elements. On top of that, Daus feels to go for some extra dark sounds on his microphone. The song allows the different parts of the band to present themselves. Another really good write, which finally even works out well.

7. Through History´s Lens

The two longest tracks of the album have been set up right one after another. In the shorter of the two ones, Through History’s Lens, they link the present with the past. Again, you simply don’t feel the contrast between the melodic parts and the dark, growling elements. On top of that, some sections of this one do slow down significantly, just in order to slowly prepare for some more darker sections. A really enjoyable one.

8. Portrait Of Solitude

Melancholic, melodic, catching, full of contrasts. That’s Portrait Of Solitude, the only song on Is there Salvation? which is longer than six minutes. Even though I feel that the song as such is not the most striking one on the record, the way the band is working with different moods, different emotions, is fascinating.

9. Lethargy

The October 2024 song was in fact the first single released from this album. Especially at the beginning of the track, the song feels being rather close to industrial metal songs. Even though the song develops towards a darker listen, it stays a good choice for rather mainstream rockers and metalheads.

10. …Salvation?

The outro is longer than the intro (86 seconds), but follows a similar concept: an instrumental, gently fading out track. A fine way to close Darkness Surrounding’2 2025 long-play episode.

 

Darkness Surrounding – Is There Salvation? – Spotify

Here is the album on Spotify:

 

Darkness Surrounding – Is There Salvation? – My View

The foundation of Is There Salvation? feels rock-solid. The band has a great talent to design a plot and put it into convincing and demanding songs. However, also the sophomore album suggests that Darkness Surrounding need to take some more steps until they are really on a top level. They definitely can do – and will have an even better rating next time. Maybe we then also get more than just four new full-length tracks.

Favorite Song: Old Minds Go Blind

 

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