Black Water Sunset is Alvin Primack (Pittsburgh, PA – Bass 2019-present), Darick Joyce (High Desert, CA - Guitar 2019-present), and Berzan Önen (Istanbul, Turkey - Vocals 2024-present). Together, they write metal with thrash and progressive elements.

The band's first release, the Picture Box EP, features snapshots of music the members wrote a decade ago and revisited during the COVID pandemic in the summer of 2020. The album dropped on May, 31 2021 and featured former vocalist Michael Neste.

Black Water Sunset’s first full-length release is Engraved Spectral Aeons. The album was released February 3, 2023. The record features performances by legendary extreme metal musicians George Kollias (Nile – Drums), Matt Harvey (Exhumed, Gruesome – Vocals), and Mattias IA Eklundh (Freak Kitchen – Guitar). The record also features performances by Jonathan Brophy (Discovery of an Afterlife - Vocals), Ofer Sharon (Voice Acting), and Michael Neste (Emulsified Flesh, ex-Black Water Sunset – Vocals).  

Shortly following Chuck Schuldiner's diagnosis of brain cancer in 1999, he began writing a new album with Richard Christy, Shannon Hamm, Steve DiGiorgio, and Tim Aymar. The album, tentatively titled "When Man and Machine Collide," would have been the follow up album to Control Denied's influential record, "The Fragile Art of Existence." Due to the passing of Chuck and technical limitations of recording equipment he used, the record was never completed. Apart from four demo tracks that were leaked in 2004 and a few handwritten sheets of incomplete lyrics, no material was released.

After being fascinated by these demos and lyrical fragments for nearly two decades, Darick and his collaborators attempted a faithful reimagining of the four leaked songs. The group recreated what was released from the tracks, following note-for-note and beat-for-beat everything that was included in the demos. The group also looked to the original members' styles and past recordings to breathe life into the songs, including original vocal melodies, additional solos, and harmonies inspired by the members of Control Denied.

The EP features Darick Joyce, Berzan Onen, Mattias IA Eklundh, Fabio Alessandrini, Rich Gray, and James Knoerl. 

Nothing will ever compare to what would have been created and performed by the original members of Control Denied. This recording is not a replacement, but a tribute to what could have been.

Disclaimer: This is a 100% free release. It is NOT for sale. We will NOT accept any payments or donations directly related to this EP. If you find that this release has value to you, please donate whatever amount you would have paid to a charity of your choosing. If you are unsure of which one, you may consider an animal shelter/rescue as Chuck loved animals. If you do happen to donate to a charity, let us know! We'd love to hear about it.

In Jewish mysticism, Dybbuks are malevolent entities, comparable to the demons of Christian mythology. Some believe dybbuks are the disembodied souls of people who had committed such great sins (like suicide) that either their souls were denied the ability to transmigrate (thus remaining on earth) or had escaped Gehenna (a place of punishment often equated to the Christian notion of hell). Once possessed, a Dybbuk remains in its victim's body until either it is exorcised, or after the completion of some self-serving task (including a repetition of the sin for which the spirit is punished). Dybbuks are thought to be attracted to people who have developed some form of psychological or spiritual alienation, or people who might have similar moral tendencies toward certain sinful activities. 

The Moirai of Greek mythology were three sisters (Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos) who personified fate. These sisters would measure, “spin,” and cut threads that reflected (or were consubstantial with) a person's life. 

In this album, Jewish and Greek myth come together with elements of strange horror and weird fiction. The Dybbuk is more than a lost soul; it is the amalgamation of an endless supply of lost souls. Originally the spirit of the first being who took pleasure in their own self-slaughter, the Dybbuk is both entity and place, housing an abyss of perpetual suffering and damnation within itself. It eternally searches Fates’ tapestries to find any imperfection in its threads, any gap signaling a moment of spiritual dereliction. Once found, it follows the thread to a moment of weakness in its victim's life at which point the victim's destiny may be disrupted. Once it has a hold, it relentlessly works toward its goal: the destruction of the victim’s body and the consumption of their soul. 

Artwork created by Ryve. 

In difficult times, people often seek out objects from their past that help them process their emotions and present circumstances. These objects can arouse strong memories. Sometimes good memories are awakened that return us to a more comfortable state of mind. Sometimes horrible memories are recalled that force us to relive traumas. Few objects have a power to use our past to puncture, wound, or heal us as strongly as photographs and songs. The Picture Box E.P. is an archive of feelings, memories, people, and places; it is a collection of snapshots and moments packed away and forgotten for over a decade. The E.P. represents a deep dive into our pasts to understand how everything became so awry. But in this search for answers, we rewrite a part of this history, speaking back to our past selves, and revising our narratives.

The Picture Box E.P. was written by Alvin Primack (music, lyrics, vocal patterns) and Darick Joyce (music, vocal patterns), and Michael Neste (vocal patterns). All lyrics were written between the years of 2007 and 2010. The album features Jackson Ward on drums. Alvin Primack produced the album, with Jeremy Conklin helping with vocal production and Alejandro Corredor mixing and mastering all tracks. The first verse of "And I See" features Marc Ouimet as an additional backing vocalist. Artwork created by Ryve.