Atlanta blackened thrash visionaries MALEFIC have released their new single “In Darkest Dreams,” taken from the band’s long-awaited full length album Impermanence, arriving February 13, 2026 via Terminus Hate City. As one of the oldest songs in the MALEFIC catalog, originally dating back to the years before 2010, “In Darkest Dreams” has undergone a long evolution to become the fully realized version presented on the record.
The track highlights the band’s increasingly death metal driven approach while still retaining the blackened and thrashy foundation that defines their sound. It is one of the few songs on the album to feature a true chorus, yet it remains progressive in structure, moving through distinct musical chapters that each showcase a different facet of the band’s writing. The middle breakdown section emphasizes the group’s command of shifting rhythms and tight, precise playing, eventually building into a ripping guitar solo by Sam that captures his growth and confidence as a lead player.
Lyrically, “In Darkest Dreams” reflects an earlier era of MALEFIC. The words were initially written by Cory after Devin left the band, and later revised slightly by Aaron to fit the larger narrative arc of Impermanence. The imagery leans heavily into the horror influences that colored the band’s early years, telling the tale of a reaper-like figure whose presence drives the song’s bleak atmosphere. Although the lyrics occasionally veer into abstract territory, the band acknowledges that they maintain a certain cool, visceral quality that fits the track’s history. The chorus in particular remains one of the few lyrical elements to survive from the early days, believed to have been preserved even after the rest of the original lyrics were lost.