Chicago duo Wretched Blessing—Kayhan Vaziri and Rae Amitay—release their new EP Psychic Barriers to Entry today via Two Mongrels Recordings. Clocking in at 16 minutes and 46 seconds, the seven-track release follows their 2024 debut and builds further on their bleak sonic fusion of black metal, hardcore, death metal, and grind.
Engineered, mixed, and mastered by Pete Grossmann at Bricktop Recording, this new chapter tightens the grip without losing its teeth.
The EP’s lyrical core reflects a sense of being overwhelmed by false narratives, cultural noise, and emotional detachment.
Wretched Blessing offer no escape—only raw processing. “We’re talking about trying to stay afloat,” says Vaziri. “Even with smaller-scale endeavors and taking the DIY path, the ‘business’ side of things can become so shitty when you find yourself dealing with it.” They don’t present solutions, only sharpened edges.
Their debut EP made it clear they weren’t here to play it safe—tackling cronyism, antifascism, and colonialism in brief, pointed bursts. That ethos continues here, but Psychic Barriers to Entry feels even more internal and disintegrated, a record obsessed with friction: spiritual, psychological, and physical.
The artwork, created by Adam Yates, anchors the EP’s concept in visual form.
Physical versions (CD and Bandcamp) come with additional visuals that extend the thematic reach. Despite their self-deprecating tone, Vaziri and Amitay know what they’re doing—and have found a trusted partner in Grossmann.
“Pete knows exactly how we want things to sound,” they say. “He communicates ideas and workflow in a way that’s perfect for us.”
There’s a clarity to this EP—despite all the noise—because Wretched Blessing refuse to decorate or sweeten the mess. As they continue writing for their next release and play more live shows, Psychic Barriers to Entry lands like a sober scream in a sea of static.
Below is Wretched Blessing’s full track-by-track breakdown, which lays out the intent behind each piece and gives a direct window into the band’s headspace during its creation.
Cerebral Scour
Kayhan Vaziri [KV]: I’ve had the main verse riff and d-beat riff for years, but never had the appropriate ‘vessel’ until now.
Rae Amitay [RA]: I think we’re both stoked on how evil it sounds, definitely has “old school death metal” energy. I really appreciate how direct and “tough” the lyrics are (Kayhan wrote them). I have a little drumming ‘homage’ to Abe Cunningham Jr/Deftones “Around the Fur” in there too
Wretched Blessing [WB]: We don’t blame people for turning to religion out of fear or a search for answers, but ultimately it dumbs us all down and gives people “justification” for treating fellow humans as “sinful” or “lesser” — We all lose.
Delusional
[KV]: Delusional is dark and melodic but also has an almost uplifting feel.
[RA]: This was kind of our Parabol/Parabola moment (hello, Tool fans) with Delusional/Dilute It All, and I love how Pete made this sound different from the other tracks. Delusional is still pretty crushing, but has its own special atmosphere.
Dilute It All
[WB]: Not to harp on Justin Broadrick vibes, but there are elements of Godflesh happening. Lyrically, it’s about the overabundance of “content” in the world of art and music. Drowning in watered-down “stuff” that kind of screams flavor of the month. “Bury the bar, there’s nowhere to go”
[KV]: We’re talking about trying to stay afloat. Even with smaller-scale endeavors and taking the DIY path, the “business” side of things can become so shitty when you find yourself dealing with it. It’s kind of our version of “Friends in the Music Business” by Cursed.
[RA]: The blast section at the end is so much fun to play — The whole song is, really. It’s the first track from the EP that we started performing live.
Decalcified
[WB] This is probably our most obvious “breakdown” so far in this band. Musically, we’re running the gamut of powerviolence, Florida death metal, and some heavier 90’s metalcore like Integrity or Merauder. And we’ve got the Infest-style intro.
[RA] Coming after the “brainrot” interlude, the tracks are definitely closely related thematically.
The Big Rip
[RA] The title has a bit of a double meaning. “The Big Rip” is a cosmological model that describes the ultimate fate of the universe, where all matter, and even spacetime itself, is progressively torn apart. It also may be loosely referencing an experience that one of us had, taking a huge rip from a DMT pen.
[WB] This is our “get me the fuck out of here” song, talking about the fantastical and horrific aspects of taking a portal to another world that isn’t this one. It brings back the “I was happy…” interlude when we ask, “Could you find peace, floating, staring at the stars?”
[KV] We have dissonant riffs playing around each other, and I was thinking like Noothgrush, or a faster Iron Monkey part. It also reminds me of Thou, or a more slept-on late 90s band I love called Die My Will.
In conclusion:
[WB] People who get the full album from Bandcamp/get it on CD will get something extra. We commissioned Adam Yates to do all of the artwork for this (the cover and the “Decalcified” art) and we couldn’t be happier with it! Our recording experience was similarly dreamy, despite many facets of reality being a waking nightmare.
Pete (Grossmann) knows exactly how we want things to sound, and he communicates ideas and workflow in a way that’s perfect for us.
We have a good handful of shows coming up in the next few months, and we’re writing for the next recording.
