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The studio was quiet, the air thick with anticipation.
Rex stood in the center, guitar strapped on, his fingers resting lightly on the strings. His long dark hair fell over his shoulders, shadowing his sharp eyes as he took a breath. Ash leaned back in his chair, spinning a guitar pick between his fingers. Kai sat cross-legged on the floor, a bass across his lap, eyes narrowed in thought. Silas twirled one of his drumsticks, bald head gleaming slightly in the soft light. Samuel Owen stood off to the side, arms folded, watching with interest.
"So," Ash finally said, "what's this next track?"
Rex smiled, not with arrogance, but with a strange calm fire. "It's called Angel of Death. This is the third song we're going to release."
Kai raised an eyebrow. "Sounds...intense."
"Oh, it is," Rex replied. "Brace yourselves."
He plugged in, adjusted the amp, and closed his eyes for a moment. In his mind, the notes danced like flames. He could already feel the power pulsing through his veins—the buildup, the scream of the riffs, the merciless tempo.
Then he began to play.
The moment the first riff of Angel of Death ripped through the air, the atmosphere changed.
The opening was like a war cry. Furious, fast, surgical. His fingers flew across the fretboard with lethal precision, every note cutting like a blade. The drums kicked in—the patterns already planned in his head—and Silas, wide-eyed, began tapping along on his practice pad, mimicking the blistering speed.
Kai's head snapped up, mouthing "what the hell" as the bassline seared into his ears. This was faster and heavier than anything they'd done so far. It wasn't just aggression—it was structured chaos, organized wrath. A statement.
Rex's voice came next.
"Auschwitz, the meaning of pain / The way that I want you to die..."
The lyrics chilled the room.
Samuel stopped cold, his arms no longer folded, his mouth slightly open. Ash, stunned into silence, stared at Rex like he was looking at something otherworldly. Silas had stopped tapping. Kai blinked hard, then slowly began nodding, like he was coming to terms with the magnitude of what he was hearing.
The solo came like a storm—shredding, merciless, screaming from the depths of fury. Rex poured everything into it. Every failed audition. Every night on the streets. Every scar on his soul. And something deeper—something borrowed from another world.
As the final notes rang out and faded into silence, no one spoke.
The only sound was Rex's breathing.
He looked up, strands of hair clinging to his face, sweat beading on his brow.
Ash was the first to move. He leaned forward, voice low. "That… That wasn't just music. That was a goddamn exorcism."
"Where the hell did that come from?" Kai asked, still visibly shaken.
Rex carefully set his guitar down and sat on the edge of a stool. His face was serious, composed.
Samuel took a step forward. "Rex," he said, "I've heard metal. I've heard thrash. But that… that was something else. What inspired you to write that?"
Everyone looked at Rex.
He exhaled slowly, looking down for a second, then met Samuel's gaze.
"Let's just say," Rex said softly, "I got inspired by the gods of heavy music."
He paused. That answer would do for now—until he saw the need to go deeper.
But something in Samuel's eyes asked for more. Rex could feel it.
So he continued.
"But if you really want to know… I read about a man named Josef Mengele. A Nazi doctor during World War II. A monster. He experimented on people—men, women, children—in the most horrific ways imaginable. The kind of evil that sticks to your soul after you learn about it."
Silas looked down, his face pale.
Rex went on, his voice steady. "I couldn't sleep after reading about him. Couldn't eat. It got into my blood. I needed to scream it out, put it into something real. Angel of Death isn't just about shock value. It's about facing the darkness of history. Not ignoring it. Not hiding from it."
Ash nodded slowly, eyes heavy. "You turned horror into truth."
Samuel took a deep breath and nodded. "And you did it through something people will remember. I don't know where you're getting this fire, Rex… but if this is just your third release—then the world isn't ready for what's coming."
Rex gave a faint smile. "Good."
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