Ov Sulfur - Endless
- Samuel Stevens
- Jan 14
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 15
Ov Sulfur have never been a band content with surface-level provocation. From their earliest anti-dogma salvos to their increasingly cinematic approach to blackened deathcore, the Vegas-based outfit has always aimed to challenge—not just religion, but complacency itself. On their sophomore full-length album Endless, out January 16, 2026, via Century Media Records, they continue to crystallize that ambition into something vast, vulnerable, and genuinely defining of their genre. This is not just Ov Sulfur’s next moment—it’s a statement of intent that feels frighteningly complete.
Formed in the time-warp haze of the pandemic and propelled by the return of ex-Suffokate vocalist Ricky Hoover, Ov Sulfur initially built their reputation on unflinching, anti-organized religion ferocity. Five years later, Endless feels like the culmination of everything they’ve learned since—musically, emotionally, and philosophically. Ironically, an album obsessed with eternity was born from creative paralysis. Faced with writer’s block after completing early tracks “Seed” and “Wither,” Hoover and guitarist/vocalist Chase Wilson reframed the struggle into a concept: what happens when emotions never end?
That question becomes the album’s beating heart. Rather than focusing solely on blasphemy, Endless interrogates the psychological toll of unceasing doubt, grief, longing, and even joy. Hoover’s reflections are bleak but incisive—if feelings never fade, sanity erodes. Even happiness becomes meaningless when stretched into infinity. It’s a chilling premise, and one that gives the record a depth that extends far beyond genre tropes.
The album’s thematic core is most powerfully realized on “Evermore,” the connective centrepiece and the record’s lead single. Here, Ov Sulfur takes aim at the promise of eternal life, asking whether paradise itself would lose meaning if it truly never ended. Musically, it’s one of the band’s most devastating compositions to date: colossal breakdowns collide with symphonic grandeur, while Hoover and Wilson trade vocals in a gruff, commanding chorus that feels both confrontational and haunting. When everything is special, nothing is—and “Evermore” makes that existential dread feel enormous.
Elsewhere, tracks like “Seed” and “Forlorn” push Ov Sulfur into overdrive, layering orchestral flourishes atop crushing deathcore frameworks and surprisingly melodic metalcore choruses. But the album’s darkest shadows emerge on songs primarily written by drummer Leviathvn—“Dread (featuring Josh Davies of Ingested),” “Bleak (featuring Johnny Ciardullo of Carcosa),” and the stunning “Vast Eternal.” These three tracks lean even harder into black metal atmospheres, with war-march rhythms, chaotic blasts, and a sense of total spiritual collapse. “Vast Eternal,” in particular, is chilling: a sonic depiction of consciousness trapped in endless nothingness, inspired by Hoover’s recurring dreams following the loss of his grandmother. There’s no heaven, no hell—just void.
That emotional weight is balanced by Endless’s most unexpected evolution: restraint. For the first time, Ov Sulfur fully embrace Ricky Hoover’s clean vocal ability, expanding melodic moments into entire songs. The pair of tracks, “Wither,” and the closing ballad “Endless//Loveless” strip away the screams entirely, revealing a hard-rock and atmospheric sensibility that still feels earned rather than indulgent. Hoover’s vocal growth—fueled by in-studio coaching from Wilson—adds a new dimension to the band’s sound, recalling the kind of dual-vocal interplay once perfected by Alice In Chains. It’s intimate, personal, and undeniably effective.
That sense of expansion is mirrored across the band itself. New members bassist Josh Bearden, who was also the producer of the Oblivion EP (2021) and guitarist Christian Becker bring added vocal depth to Ov Sulfur’s already imposing live presence, while guest appearances from Johnny Ciardullo (Carcosa), Josh Davies (Ingested), and Alan Grnja (Distant) inject fresh ferocity to a few of the album's tracks without overshadowing the band’s identity. It’s a continuation of Ov Sulfur’s tradition of collaboration—one earned through years of touring alongside genre heavyweights like Lorna Shore, Whitechapel, Shadow of Intent, and Carnifex, capped by a successful co-headliner with Mental Cruelty.
Where the band's debut, The Burden ov Faith (2023), felt like a defiant middle finger to critics and skeptics, “The first album was more of a ‘fuck you’ to the people who didn’t understand or fuck with Ov Sulfur,” Wilson states. Endless is something much more nuanced. As Wilson puts it, “Endless is more of a love letter to the people who did and stuck around.” That duality—rage and gratitude, hatred and love—is what makes Endless resonate so deeply. If Ov Sulfur had a flag, it really would feature a middle finger on one side and a heart on the other.
By the time “Endless//Loveless” fades into silence, one thing is abundantly clear: Ricky Hoover no longer needs qualifiers attached to his name. This isn’t the return of an ex-anything. This is Ov Sulfur claiming their place in the metal scene, unflinchingly and permanently. Endless is ambitious, emotionally devastating, and surprisingly vast as it is human—a sophomore album that feels less like a beginning and more like a monument.
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