Official: Prosthetic RecordsOut now
The Indiana blackened thrash band’s frontman teaches history by day, and the new album is built around the Great War.
The story
Wraith have released Descent Into Darkness, their sixth full-length, through Prosthetic Records on CD, LP and digital. The Indiana quartet is Matt Sokol on vocals and guitar, Jason Schultz on guitar, Chris Petkus on bass and Mike Szymendera on drums, and the album was recorded with co-producer CJ Rayson.
Sokol, a tenth-grade history teacher, says most of the ten songs draw on a battle or phase of the First World War, and the cover shows a WWI battlefield with a reaper in the clouds. He describes wanting to write from the view of people history books skip, such as mill workers and reluctant soldiers. ‘Final Warning’ and ‘Over The Top’ were released as videos ahead of the album, which runs about 35 minutes.
Photo: Cristian Danner / Prosthetic Records
We definitely let the music do the talking.
Matt Sokol, vocals and guitar
Get it: Prosthetic Records
- Buy or stream now through Prosthetic Records and the usual digital platforms.
- Out now (13/11/2026).
- Formats: CD, LP, digital.
Our take
War-themed thrash is a crowded field, but a frontman who teaches the subject brings an angle most bands fake. The press quotes Prosthetic gathered compare Wraith to Seasons In The Abyss-era Slayer and early Sodom, which places them in the blackened end of thrash rather than the crossover or party end. That is the label’s framing; the quotes come from outlets it chose.
Six albums in, Wraith are a consistent working band on a label with real reach in the US underground. A 35-minute runtime also fits the style: thrash records that overstay are a common complaint, and this one is built to be played twice.
Bottom line
For fans of Sodom, Destroyer 666 and blackened thrash with a history lesson. Out now, so stream a single first and buy the LP if the WWI concept appeals.
Release sheet
| Band | Wraith (Indiana, USA) |
| Album | Descent Into Darkness (6th album) |
| Label | Prosthetic Records |
| Out | 13/11/2026 |
| Length | 10 tracks, about 35 minutes |
| Theme | First World War |
The original
WRAITH: Descent Into Darkness Full-Length From Indiana Blackened Thrash/Speed Metal Assault Out Now On Prosthetic Records
Issued by Earsplit Compound for Prosthetic Records
