On Dec. 2, rock band Distant released their newest single dubbed “Orphan of Blight.” With only a four-minute track, the band lets their message smoothly intertwine with their instrumentals. However, the demonic nature of the song proves to be as harsh on the ears as it is on one’s soul, leaving the only takeaway for listeners to be mental trauma. 

Distant started in 2014 as a small rock band from Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The band has five members: Alan Grnja on vocals, Nouri Yetgin and Vladimir Golic on the guitar, Elmer Maurits on the bass, and Shainel Ramharakh on drums. 

With a unique sound, the group specializes in a mixture of hardrock and deathcore, developing their music through extreme sound variation. “Orphan of Blight” drastically varies between moments of synchronization where every member’s style compliments each other, to what can be compared to an open-mic night – unorganized and scratchy – in another verse. 

During their five-year career, they have produced three albums and a whopping 20 singles. While most bands fall into a specific formula, Distant still holds onto their own unique sense of style. 

Their style is based on eclectic instrumentals and randomly placed bridges. It repeats certain parts of the songs, to the general layout and style of the music itself. 

Out of the band’s three singles from this year, “Orphan of Blight” is their most recent, attempting to reach a broader audience. While calmer than their past work, the single presents a danger to auditory systems with its rough, grating style. 

This song has lengthy instrumentals at the beginning, introducing the listener to the song’s harsh and unruly pace. The initial instrumentals are innocuous and bland, making the single feel like an intro to an adventure movie instead of hard rock. The instrumentals provide a deceptive sense of happiness, relative to the heavy nature of the rest of the song. The song lacks variation in beat, making the entire song feel redundant. On top of the repetitive beat, none of their instrumentals or tempos complement each other, creating a harsh and off-putting sound. The clash overlaps the vocals, attenuating the contrast from the beginning of the song to the remainder.    

The lyrics of the song are something to behold, at least once understood by the listener. Upon further research it can be determined that there are actual words when the vocalist is talking, but he sings in such a death metal growl most of the time you wouldn’t be able to tell. Their lyrics are in English even though they currently produce their music in the Netherlands.  This style is referred to as “grunge core,” which is similar to deathcore, but deathcore has a much more intense tone.

“With every step I take this planet’s carcass cracks / With your first step you will burn / You can’t control all the hate that you have learned / Until you know the true meaning of your suffering.” While this might seem intense and nonsensical, unnecessary, and incredibly dark, the rest of the song only repeats this pattern of grunge. 

After listening, it is clear why this genre of music has a tight circle of listeners. The band creates music for a niche group of fans. From a fan’s point of view, it can be said that the music takes up your entire body, making the listener feel powerful in that moment.  

For those who appreciate this sort of music, this song will make your day.  The members are masters of their craft, stringing music together in lengthy solos, which can be incredibly hard on their level of production. Additionally, the vocal range is astronomical; the talent going into that type of scream takes years to perfect. 

Otherwise, it’s probably best to stick with Harry Styles. This is not mainstream pop music in any sense. All in all, “Orphan of Blight” earns a two out of five feathers rating for the refined yet highly specific taste of the music.