I totally love these kinds of compilations! I really do! And when it comes to Italy’s Doom / Death Metal act INTO DARKNESS, I had even already compiled one myself, with exactly the same content and chronology, just based on shitty mp3 files that I had burned onto an even shittier CD-R copy. Luckily, that can be replaced now, since Terror From Hell Records released all the band’s demo, EP and split material officially on a real CD after all. The compilation title “2012 – 2018 Data Collection” sounds a bit strange to me, but what the heck. It’s the music that matters. And if you’re into the doomier kind of old school Death Metal madness, you’ll most certainly already have known INTO DARKNESS for quite some time. If you don’t (shame on you!), you would probably guess that they are from the Netherlands, since there’s a lot of old ASPHYX worshipping in their songs. So it shouldn’t come as a big surprise that the band’s founding member, guitarist / vocalist Giulia, better known as “Doomed Warrior”, got herself an ASPHYX tattoo several years ago and also is a die-hard PENTACLE fan. INTO DARKNESS even covered one of their songs, ‘The Flame’s Masquerade (Her Sun Is The Moon)’, on the 2018 demo “First Encounters”, which is of course also included here. As already mentioned, “2012 – 2018 Data Collection” features the complete discography of the band, with the exception of the “Cassini – Huygens” EP, which came out in 2023. It kicks off with the killer “Into Darkness” debut demo from 2012 and ends with the already mentioned 2018 demo “First Encounters”, also including the tracks from the split EPs with GHOULGOTHA and PROFANAL. The CD booklet features some really entertaining liner notes from Giulia and all the artwork and lyrics from the demos and EPs. The cover artwork is pretty simple, but fits perfectly, and for me it was also a pleasure to see that the old logo was used here instead of the new one, which I’m personally not really a fan of. Ok, it’s all old stuff, so it makes sense of course. So, to sum it up: even if you missed out on one or another INTO DARKNESS release, or if you’re just sick and tired of playing a vinyl EP just for one or two songs, this is the perfect choice of purchase. I’m looking forward to the band’s long-overdue debut full-length, which also seems to be taking shape after all now. You can follow INTO DARKNESS at www.facebook.com/intodarkness, their label, Terror From Hell Records, can be reached via www.facebook.com/terrorfromhellrecords