With Wraith, what you see is what you get. The Indiana quartet, Matt Sokol, Jason Schultz, Chris Petkus, and Mike Szymendera, favor focus over flash, delivering old-school thrash accelerated through a modern extreme metal lens.

After millions of streams and acclaim from No Clean Singing and MetalSucks, Wraith releases their sixth album, Descent Into Darkness (Prosthetic Records). "We're a no-gimmicks thrash metal band," says Matt. "We let the music do the talking."

Following Wraith (2017), Heed the Warning (2018), Absolute Power (2019), and Undo the Chains (2021), plus 2024's acclaimed Fueled By Fear, the band recorded this album with co-producer CJ Rayson. Matt, a tenth-grade history teacher, rooted the record in World War I: "Most songs pull from some battle or phase of the conflict."

"Final Warning" storms with pummeling drums and sniper-precise riffing. "It's a story about ignoring warnings," Matt says, drawing parallels to today. "Over the Top" captures a soldier's dread before battle. "No Man's Land" explores being trapped between advance and retreat. "Back in the Trenches," the album's foundation, follows a soldier uncertain if his fight is righteous.

"We're pushing boundaries," Matt concludes. "I'm immensely proud of this. We've matured, but it's still a Wraith record."