EP Review: Damnata – Delirium (Self Released)

Wiltshire thrash/groove metal trio Damnata are set to release their debut EP with Delirium, a three-track EP due on September 4th.

Formed in late 2024, the band spent much of 2025 honing their sound and live performance before releasing their debut single Call The Exorcist earlier this year. Now, Delirium brings together three tracks that showcase the band’s rapidly developing sound. Drawing influence from Testament, Lamb Of God and Exodus, Damnata aim to combine intricate thrash riffing, searing guitar work and punishing groove-driven rhythms. Across its three tracks, Delirium targets the precision and aggression of classic thrash with the muscular weight of contemporary groove metal, offering an early glimpse of what this young Wiltshire trio are capable of.

Produced and engineered by Josh Gallop, with artwork by Doomesia, the EP marks the first significant release from a band still very much at the beginning of their journey.

Delirium comes with three tracks, starting with the title track, Delirium. The groove comes at you quickly, with a cool intro that pushes the riffs and bass forcefully. The drums crash in and bring plenty of power, making this an immediate headbanger. Vocals come in shouted with force and depth, and the delivery during the verses is particularly cool. They flow almost like rap does, while not actually being rap, giving the song an interesting rhythmic quality. Add in plenty of melodic hooks and a very impressive solo and you have a really strong song that flows nicely, stays engaging throughout and will make you want to move your feet and bang your head.

Burn keeps the quality high and raises the tempo significantly with a very thrashy, riff-fest of an intro. The drums are excellent, the riffs are huge and the vocals are very comfortable to listen to, delivering aggressive shouts that suit the groove style nicely. Some added gang vocals in the chorus highlight those sections well, while around the verses and choruses, bridges are formed by hard-hitting and grooving instrumentals. There’s another nice solo that breaks the song up and keeps things moving forwards before a final verse and chorus rips into us to close out another fast and furious banger.

The third and final track on Delirium is called White Lightning — presumably not in homage to the cheap cider of my youth — and here we get the perfect hat-trick of fast and furious metal bangers. Damnata claimed to combine thrash and groove, and certainly deliver on that promise across the EP, but especially here. It’s a short song to close things out at just under three minutes, but it’s three minutes of quality. Furious drumming, aggressive vocals, punchy riffs and heavy, prominent bass lines will keep your neck working and mosh pits swirling. The instrumental drops a load of groove on us, and another banging little solo lights things up, bringing us towards the close of another very good song and a very strong EP.

Damnata have made a very strong first impression with Delirium. This is proper heavy metal with plenty of groove, energy and aggression, but it is also incredibly comfortable to listen to, with the three tracks flowing naturally and each bringing something to the table. The only real complaint is that it’s over far too quickly. Three tracks simply isn’t enough, and I would have happily taken another song or two. In fairness, though, that probably says more about how much I enjoyed Delirium than it does about the EP itself. When a debut leaves you wanting more, that’s a pretty damn good sign.

Track List:

1 – Delirium

2 – Burn

3 – White Lightning

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