You could be forgiven for assuming Veins of Suffering hailed from the northern lands of Scandinavia, given their aggressive and haunting death metal sound. But in fact, they come from Austria and are on a mission to modernise the Swedish classics with a sound that they describe as “melodic, vicious and emotional.”
The Leoben quartet of Vladimir Rybolovov (vocals), Dominik Ettinger (guitar), Sascha Zeisler (drums), and Julian Prein (bass) come from different musical backgrounds but are united by the same deep passion for music. Dominik and Sascha previously played in a band together, and that collaboration led to the idea to launch a new project that became Veins of Suffering. And on the sound they’ve crafted, Dominik simply told us: “Swedish melodic death with a modern touch.”
Our first taste of this is the band’s new EP, Witness The Ascension Of A Dying World, which was released in September. From it, they sent us the second track In Memoriam, which starts out with a laid-back guitar that quickly gives way to a dramatic opening riff over powerful drums. Gruff vocals take over alongside stabbing guitars, before a cool riff and vicious screamed vocals in an intense chorus. The pace slows with a laid-back guitar solo that meanders away over chunky guitar chords, dropping into blastbeat drums and rhythmic guitars that flow into a big chorus. And the track concludes with the cool darting riff and intense vocals.
On the track, Dominik said: “Statistically, the title track acts as a strong runner-up in our streams, but live feedback tells a different story. At our release show, many people told us they couldn’t decide on a favourite because they enjoyed every song equally—which is exactly what we aimed for. As for the sound, In Memoriam is like a violent waltz: aggressive and heavy, yet distinctively melodic.”
There’s plenty more where that came from on the EP, opening up with the more melodic Time, along with the excellent Everything, which starts out with heavy guitars over wild blastbeat drums. Things take a turn for the sinister and morose on the delicious My Darkest Shadow before concluding with the lively Tears In A Mirror, which is chocked full of chunky guitar riffs and intense vocals.
The Veins Of Suffering sound has been influenced by Scandinavian greats like Arch Enemy, In Flames, At The Gates, and Omnium Gatherum. However, their goal is to take that classic Swedish metal sound and give it a fresh, modern update.
And on what inspires them to write music, Dominik told us: “For us, music is the ultimate form of expression – it’s about the raw emotion, the message behind the lyrics, and a genuine passion for the genre. Lyrically, we focus on themes that listeners can personally relate to or find themselves in. This ranges from ballads like Time to beastly, heavy tracks like My Darkest Shadow.“
Veins Of Suffering are taking the rest of the year off to recharge their batteries, ahead of new shows and starting the writing process for their next release next year. That may be in the form of another EP or a full album, they haven’t decided yet.
And Dominik added: “If you enjoy what we do, please don’t hesitate to share our music! We also love connecting with fans, so feel free to DM us your stories if you feel a connection to a specific song. We hope to see you all in 2026.”
You can follow Veins Of Suffering on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.
Listen to Veins Of Suffering and more new bands on our Spotify playlists GigRadar Core and GigRadar Metal
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