Country: Poland (Warsaw)
Genre: Epic Heavy Metal with blackened elements
For fans of: Brocas Helm, Satan, Omen, Deathwish, Holy Terror
Release: 2026
Review
Torpor are a heavy metal quartet from Warsaw, with roots in blackened heavy metal and a strong love for epic, high‑fantasy style. Dungeon Descent is their first full‑length and comes as a distillation of what they’ve been working on since 2017: melodicism, filth, underground atmosphere and a clear identity that stands on the 80s without becoming a rehash.
The band started as a trio around 2017, with members who had passed through Armagh. The first single, “Burning Realms” (2018), already showed the dark NWOBHM‑epic heavy metal with an early black metal touch:
In 2019 they appeared on the split The Extremity of Dominion with more speed‑metal intensity:
In 2021, on the EP The Ancient Tales, the Brocas Helm and Satan influences became clearer:
All this material was recorded with the original line‑up (Mark I) before the first drummer left. For Dungeon Descent the band announced a new drummer in 2025, Bloodhammer (Haunted Cenotaph, Putrid Offal etc.), and so the current trio/quartet was formed. With this line‑up, their sound leans more toward extreme‑metal‑informed traditional heavy metal, without losing the epic foundation.
The central figure is Franciszek Archont (vocals/bass). His voice has theatricality and vibrato, with a style that recalls Brian Ross and J.D. Kimball of the Warning of Danger era. His bass lines don’t stay in the background; often they work as a second melodic line, tying the guitars to the rhythmic part.
The album stands on mid‑80s US power metal melodies, prominent bass and rhythms that have a slight extreme metal filth. As an overall result, it brings to mind underground heavy/thrash releases in the vein of At the Edge of Damnation (Deathwish) or Holy Terror’s debut, but with a stronger epic character.
“Trespassing the Sanctuary” opens the record with a fast, “galloping” rhythm, blackened riffing in the verse and constant transitions that keep the track alive and dark. At the end a Hammond‑type organ comes in, a detail that shows Torpor don’t stay only with the basics.
“Armoured Skeleton” continues the story with mid‑tempo epic heavy that turns into a speed‑metalpunk/UK82 feel around 1:25, without losing its melodic line:
“Dungeon Dwellers” is a more haunting, more “sword‑and‑dungeon” track, with melodies that stick:
“Polybolos” is the peak of the album. The pre‑chorus is a real earworm, the intensity rises with Bloodhammer’s fills and the guitar techniques that had already appeared on “Trespassing the Sanctuary”, but here they fully serve the hook. The chorus comes and goes in a way that leaves room for the memory to wait for it again:
The closing with “Scythian Chase” (referred to in the text as the closer, without a link) keeps the intensity high, with a fast rhythm, epic melodies and a sense of a hunt across ancient battlefields. For many, it may also be the best track on the record.
The cover art, as noted, looks more like a screenshot from a low‑budget Skyrim clone with a filter than classic heavy metal art, and doesn’t help at first glance. Even so, the music dissolves any reservation. Dungeon Descent is a well‑built, epic heavy metal album, with a clear identity, strong songwriting and a sense that the band knows exactly what it wants to play.
Line‑up
- Franciszek Archont – Vocals, Bass
- Olivier J.L.W. – Guitars
- Simon L. – Additional Guitars
- Bloodhammer – Drums (Haunted Cenotaph, Putrid Offal etc.)
