Review: Gargoyles in the Night Wasteland (2025)

Reviewed by Seth Metoyer, Metal Crawlspace -

We got a hold of Gargoyles in the Night Wasteland, the self-titled debut from the Hanoi-based duo of the same name, and it’s one of those weird little finds that catches you off guard in the best way.

It’s dark. It’s gnarly. It’s all over the map. And we mean that as a compliment.

The band consists of Zakhar Rykalov (Russia) on vocals and lyrics and Danny Hoffmann (Vietnam) on guitars and songwriting. Together, they’ve cooked up a 7-track release that dives headfirst into a mix of black metal, death metal, industrial, and atmospheric progressive sludge, without ever feeling like they’re chasing trends.

The track “Afterlife Sophistication” explodes with a brutal pace and then veers into this surprisingly creative riff section. The tone is unique; it’s not your usual over-processed chug fest. There’s something intentional and crafted in the choices here.

“Vicious Relationship” brings the tempo down a notch with a sludgy, almost hypnotic groove, while keeping things heavy and vocally feral. It’s a mood. One of the most "listenable" songs on the album, and that's not a dig, it grooves in all the right ways.

“Silence so Loud,” is one that really threw me. Imagine Pink Floyd took a detour through an Eastern European ruin during a thunderstorm. It’s mellow, melancholic, and genuinely beautiful. A total curveball, but it fits.

Throughout the album, there’s this loose chaos, the kind that feels deliberate. Blast beats, off-kilter rhythms, and moments of bleak ambience sneak in and out, giving the whole thing a dreamlike, almost schizophrenic structure.

The lyrics (available on their Bandcamp) lean into the existential, the surreal, and the grim. Some tracks even dip into Russian. There’s no filler, just seven raw tracks (although the final song on the album feels a bit lost), but each has its own atmosphere.

This is a DIY release, completely independent. The band dropped it on June 24, 2025, and it’s currently available via Bandcamp and other digital platforms. No label. No PR. No hype machine. Just two artists in Hanoi doing something uniquely their own and doing it their way.

We won’t pretend this is a perfect record. It’s rough around the edges, and sometimes it feels like it’s reaching for too much, but honestly, I respect the swing. There’s creativity here. Real effort. Real vision. In a world flooded with derivative riffs and paint-by-numbers extreme metal, that stands out.

Rating: 7/10 – A weird, dark, genre-bending debut from a band that’s not playing by anyone’s rulebook.

LISTEN NOW: Bandcamp: gargoylz.bandcamp.com

Streaming platform: Gargoyles in the Night Wasteland by Gargoyles In The Night Wasteland

Follow the Band: Facebook – Gargoyles in the Night Wasteland

For fans of: Dødheimsgard, Celtic Frost, Ministry, Akercocke