Cemetery Reign – Confined to Time
Release Date: 26th February 2026
Label: Carbonized Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Death Metal
FFO: early Carcass, Autopsy, Grave, Asphyx, Nihilist, Sepultura, Demigod, Bolt Thrower.
Review By: Malte Brigge
Being from New Mexico (a state roughly the size of Poland with roughly the population of Paris [proper]) doesn’t provide much opportunity to be excited about local production. The Smithsonian once left us off an official map of the United States; Homer Simpson expressed surprise to discover “there’s a new one?!” I have a shirt that informs people: “New Mexico: not really new, not really Mexico”. We get so starved for any representation we’re stoked about Breaking Bad. David McMaster, the man behind the death metal solo project Cemetery Reign, and I are now probably best friends because he’s based out of Santa Fe, and I’ve listened to his music.
Confined to Time was written and recorded during the most restricted period of the COVID-19 days, so, naturally, it’s a solo project about “war, … devastation, … depression, and psychedelic death-insanity”. McMaster’s a talented multi-instrumentalist, providing drums for Predatory Light and Superstition and guitar ‘n’ vox for Street Tombs. Purists, rest easy! Cemetery Reign’s drums are live and they are mean. Sometimes I’m convinced they’re the lead instrument, though the promo material insists they were “thrown down on the spot when recording.” They have real presence. The snare ranges from sounding like a tree trunk slamming against an empty coffin to rebar smacking a trash-can lid (Infernal Punishment), and, oh! that ride bell! The way it tappity-tinks through the mix to turn corners, swing rhythms and sing out to the shatteringly blue skies overhead (Grave Depression). It’s enough to make you ignore the fact that the bass, though present, has no personality.
The guitars are full and full of earth, like they’re being driven underground, breaking up dirt clod after dirt clod. By Spiral Eyes, they take on a crunchier sharpness which helps leads break through the mix more cleanly. There’s plenty of squealies signalling bridges and tempo changes (Escape Survival, Pendulum Clock). Small effects like whammy bars (Spiral Eyes), fret scrapes (Despise by Fire), stop-starts bridged by tremolo runs (Pendulum Clock) alongside big foundations laid by thick, chuggy, fast, finger-dancing riffs (Curse of Despair) hold equal importance. Beyond references to that geographical flourishing of FFOs above, songs like Grave Depression and Despised by Fire have shades of Maiden in occasional breaks and references to Slayer in some riffs, but at all times you will not forget that this is a death metal album. It wears its influences like a crest on its production shield, whether it’s a bit of Morbid Angel weirdness (Captive in a Coffin) or the straightforward gonna-pummel-you attitude of Grave (Infernal Punishment). Leads, often refrains rather than true solos, are so melodic you can hum along, and often they leave you wanting more (Escape Survival).
New Mexico has never produced a world-class singer. With Cemetery Reign on the scene, it still hasn’t. The air is too dry, there’s too much dust, but this makes McMaster’s vocals arid and cavernous. His gruff roars are one-note but not one-dimensional; a lot of death-metal throats just grunt and roar and whatever, but McMaster has a bit of that Oliver Rae in that he understands where the song is and how to vocalize a rhythmic punch (Captive in a Coffin) which makes him fun to hear. Confined to Time is slightly doomier and a little more mid-paced than McMaster’s other bands, which allows for strong songwriting breaks even while not challenging the dynamics. There are a few moments where thematic potential doesn’t fully pay off, and I can’t point to any “wow” moments, but there’s good balance between power chord chuggin’, fretboard riffin’ and tremolo wailin’, which crafts a remarkably consistent album. There are no dull moments, and my only real nitpick would be that penultimate track Captive in a Coffin feels like a culmination with all the umph of a closer. Actual closer Curse of Despair—not a bad song per se—loses some shine and should come first. The momentum of the album somehow stalls because of this placement.
Confined to Time is a gritty death metal album without vanity. Like its source, it’s not really new, but it’s also not really like anything else. McMaster is a quality musician and puts his stamp on every aspect of these songs. It has the thick, weirdly rich production of those old Nihilist demos and a Grave-like flesh-n-bones presence. There are no wasted moments and my criticisms are nitpicks. New Mexico rocks and now so does its music. Thank you, Mr McMaster. It’s about fucking time.
(3.5 / 5)
