DYING VICTIMS PRODUCTIONS is proud to present the highly anticipated debut album of North Carolina’s DECEPTOR, Reign of Terror, on CD and vinyl LP formats.
Hailing from Raleigh, DECEPTOR are death / thrash trio driven by the underground movement of 1988-1992. The band’s led by vocalist / bassist Gabriel Earley, who is responsible for writing music and lyrics, graphic design, and production / mixing / mastering. A self-taught musician, Earley started DECEPTOR in his bedroom, largely crediting the band’s creation to hearing the stories of bands like Anthrax and Metallica getting their start from Jon Zazula’s influence and belief in their potential/success. Jon died shortly before Earley began taking the idea of starting a band more seriously, and eventually, he found some musicians to make that idea come to life. The lineup coalesced when guitarist Preston Lanier joined in June 2022 after Earley approached him at an Exodus show with a copy of DECEPTOR’s first demo, Bound by Ritual; then, in October of that year, drummer Andrew Harper joined the band after witnessing their performance at a DIY house show. Together, the power-trio released the Bathed in Blood EP in 2023 and, the following year, the “Street General” digital single – both recordings setting the stage for their inevitable debut album.
Titled Reign of Terror, DECEPTOR’s debut album is tour de force of classic deathrash, firmly (and authentically) situated between those years of 1988 and 1992. With influences ranging from old Sepultura, Whiplash, and Protector on the thrashier end of things to Viogression, Ripping Corpse, and early Gorguts on the deathlier – and then Coroner, squarely in between – DECEPTOR construct mind-melting labyrinths across the ten-song / 33-minute record. Speed is always front and center here, but effectively shifts gears from gallop to one-two blast to overdrive and plenty more in between. Likewise, the riffing of Lanier spans the blunt & barbarian to technical terror, effectively instilling both aggression and tension in their surprisingly dynamic songwriting. Earley’s bass work adds especial heft to their skulking breakdowns, which could almost be a record in themselves, so ever-present and compelling as they are. And Harper delivers a performance that his hero Gene Hoglan would’ve loved; one could say his violent acrobatics Leave Scars. Perhaps what’s most salient – beyond the era-authentic songwriting, that is – is the production on Reign of Terror, which sounds both throwback and refreshing, humidly raw and yet exceptionally finessed. Completed by Earley’s ‘91-vintage death-growls – again, just the right amount of reverb here – DECEPTOR’s first full-length stands as a reverential reinvigoration of archaic powers.
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