Style: Dissonant death metal, progressive death metal (harsh vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Ulcerate, Gorguts, Cryptopsy, Blood Incantation
Country: Denmark
Release date: 10 July 2026

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The stank face: a universal sign of a nasty riff or groove in heavy music. You’re doing one right now aren’t you? Nothing produces this involuntary grimace quite like quality dissonant death metal. I’m sure many would claim huge deathcore breakdowns are the true stank face king, though from overuse the tempo drops and dramatic pauses of these breakdowns have become nothing more than a cliché. Dissonant death metal’s volatile nature, with unpredictable movements, clashing intervals, and uneasy tension often seems a misstep away from complete unorganized chaos. In this setting, a crushing heavy riff offers a release from the dissonant maelstrom and can batter a listener with a brutal groove to a degree that other subgenres can’t match. Denmark’s Dysgnostic have an advanced degree in stankfacery, and hope to distort faces across the globe with their sophomore LP, End Whispers.

After the brief acoustic opening in “The Last Refrain”, End Whispers tears forward at a frenetic pace. Guitarists Simon Kannegaard and Mads Bertram H Gath create dissonance by frequently playing in parallel rather than in unison. Both weave their own unique fiendish waltz with the same endpoint in mind though often via starkly different routes. In the moments when they do unite, as in the mid tempo groove of “The Black Sun” and blistering tremolo section of “End Whispers” the impact of their synchronized riffing is all-the-more devastating. Thomas Fischer’s unhinged, guttural scream, a constant rumble throughout End Whispers, offers the ideal vocal complement to this stanky riffage. Contrasting the onslaught of the dissonant rhythm, Kannegaard’s guitar solos mournfully wail via sustained bends and vibrato, heard in “Into Salvation’s Night” and “Ignis Fatuus”. Drummer Richardt Olsen delivers the standout performance throughout End Whispers, though. His unrelenting blastbeats and galloping double bass are a constant, played at a consistent fiery intensity which char Dysgnostic’s scorched path. In the moments of reprieve from the intensity, like the gentle acoustic passage of “Into Salvation’s Night”, Olsen’s gentle cymbal work heightens the atmospheric tension to a peak, summoning the explosive return of subsequent tremolo madness.

The front half of End Whispers consistently satisfies though Dysgnostic begin to falter with “Ignis Fatuus”, a slow meandering track that loses much of the momentum from a reduction in intensity without enough intrigue. Upon returning to the blast beat-led walloping in “Feast of Emptiness” or the slower groove of “The Shattered Timekeeper”, Dysgnostic’s dissonant punch doesn’t deliver the same impact as the earlier tracks. “Orphaned and Abandon” is overly focused on creating dissonance through the parallel guitar lines though the cumulative performance becomes unmemorable and tedious. End Whispers concludes with “Glimpses of a Lost Horizon” which incorporates a—gulp—saxophone solo, a cliché and unnecessary addition that, absent from the remainder of End Whispers, feels like Dysgnostic playing to the current trend of progressive death metal at a detriment to the album’s ending which would have greatly benefitted from an explosive, culminate conclusion. Though wrapping up at just over forty minutes, the stagnation of End Whispers’ final tracks results in a growing boredom for the listener, as their stank face is only a distant memory. 

Dysgnostic certainly have potential to stand alongside some of the underground leaders of dissonant death metal (check out Replicant and Devenial Verdict if you’re unfamiliar) though need to hone in on consistently delivering impactful payouts to their dissonant atmosphere that they create. As End Whispers concludes, I hear no compelling whispers to return for repeated listens. 

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Recommended tracks: The Black Sun, End Whispers, The Last Refrain
You may also like: Hath, Nightmarer, Undersave, Devenial Verdict, Replicant
Final verdict: 6/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram

Label: Transcending Obscurity Records

Dysgnostic is:
– Thomas Fischer (bass, vocals)
– Simon Kannegaard (guitar)
– Richardt Olsen (drums)
– Mads Bertram H Gath (guitar)