Single Review: Callas - Doxa (2025)

Written: 24th June 2025

Hailing from Cork, Ireland, Callas are a three piece post-rock and experimental metal band. The band’s debut EP Days received some acclaim for its ambition and emotional weight. With a line-up featuring Dom Murphy (vocals, guitars, keys), Cormac Shanley (bass), and Ruairi Lynch (guitars, drums, production), the band crafts intense, textured soundscapes. New single Doxa – due for release on 27th June – aims to push the boundaries of their sound still further. Dom Murphy comments, “This song definitely has a cinematic feel to it. In its four minutes of runtime, it packs a lot in! I think it just might be the best song we have penned thus far and it’s certain to pave the way for our sound on our next releases.”

Doxa opens in typical post-rock fashion with a steady beat and spacious, reverb-drenched guitars that set a tense, uneasy atmosphere from the first note. Drums are deliberately measured, cutting through the haze to give the track its weight and structure. The bass anchors everything firmly beneath the layered guitars, which gradually build in density. It is a slow, purposeful climb into something darker, the kind of build-up that holds you in place, not pushing you forward too fast.

Dom Murphy’s vocals feel distant but urgent, almost like a quiet internal warning. Take this moment / And breathe. There is no comfort in those words. It is more a fragile attempt to hold steady before everything collapses. The relatively sparse amount of lyrics throughout the song fit the band’s style perfectly, creating space for the music’s intense atmosphere. Their minimalism amplifies the emotional impact, letting the soundscapes speak volumes without over-explaining. It is haunting and powerful. As the guitars thicken and the rhythm tightens, the tension grows, the mood darkening in a way that feels inevitable.

When the distorted guitars roll in, so do the next set of lyrics. You promised the stars / You promised to try / To try / Try. The repetition does not offer hope - it feels like exhaustion and frustration itself. The distortion builds thick and heavy, the drums snapping sharper, pushing the song forward with a sense of weight and urgency that perfectly matches the vocal despair. Callas control this swelling wave with precision; it is intense but never messy.

The tension breaks open in the next section and panic rises. Go / Get away from here / Run / They are coming near. The guitars explode into thick distortion, filling every space but remaining tight and focused. The vocals strain against the wall of sound, driving the claustrophobia and urgency deeper. It is controlled chaos, the band balancing aggression with atmosphere without losing grip.

The final moments build around the closing lyrics. There is no way home / There is no way home - not a plea but a resigned acceptance. The guitars fracture into shards, swirling around the vocals like debris caught in a storm. No release, no escape - just facing the wreckage head-on. The song fades, closing on that unresolved tension, leaving the weight of everything intact.

Doxa is a dark, ambitious track that balances atmosphere and heaviness with care and control. Callas blend post-rock’s expansive moodiness with experimental metal’s edge and raw intensity into a focused, immersive experience. Lyrically, it reflects on fragile beliefs and accepted truths – doxa - that unravel under pressure. It lives up to Murphy’s promise of much happening in four minutes. Like a combination of Anathema, Deafheaven and The Radicant, fans of those bands willing to accept the amalgamation of styles will find plenty to appreciate here. It will be fascinating to see where they head next.

Doxa is released on 27th June 2025.

Callas online

https://linktr.ee/callasband