When PARADISE LOST guitarist Greg Mackintosh put to rest his VALLENFYRE side project in 2018, he closed a difficult, but an ultimately cathartic period in his life. Created as a tribute to his father John, who passed away in 2009, VALLENFYRE originally served as a sounding board for Greg’s grief, but then delved into his nihilistic take on the world. VALLENFYRE’s brief existence was intentional — the band always knew they could go no further than the three studio albums that bore their name. A mere few days after VALLENFYRE played its last live show in September 2018, Mackintosh announced the formation of a brand-new band, STRIGOI.

 

»Abandon All Faith« boasts a wide dichotomy of tracks, from less-than-two-minute d-beat grinders (‘Nocturnal Vermin’, ‘Throne of Disgrace’), disharmonic death metal heaves (‘Phantoms’, ‘Parasite’) to its arguable standout numbers, ‘Carved into the Skin’ and the title track. Both cuts incorporate oppressive melodies, and in the case of the closing title track, minor strokes of orchestration. ‘Carved into the Skin’ was the first song Mackintosh wrote for STRIGOI, providing him with an early signpost of where to take the projec