There’s a bit of Italy and a bit of the Netherlands in this band but either way it comes down to searing black metal. This album is the follow up to “I-Serpent” which was released in 2016.

Frenzied explosions, grunts, and all-out assault mark the start of this album and the track “Nocturnal Craft”. The world burns. The guitarist releases a razor-sharp, raw black metal riff as the raging fire burns. The fire continues but I lost the thread a bit as I found it burned along jollily without the earlier explosiveness. The sinister chant and tone which runs through the slower but no less heavy “Hexenblood Vessel” brought me back into the evil spirit of things. A highlight for me of this album is the expressive guitar work. “Gandreich” is another journey through evil territory, distinguished again by the customary ferocity but also the fluid and even melodic guitar work. “Mercy as a Blade” continues the pattern with a march and style that is akin to that of Immortal. Fire meets frost. Another dark scene is set as a curtain raiser to the war like and imperious “To Death’s Light”. The drum sets out a steady pattern as a voice speaks ominously. All the instrumental and forces join together to form a concerted ball of fire, breaking off momentarily for a quiet and sombre interlude before ramping up the dark and explosive energy. The final burst comes in the form of “They Listen In”, another expansive and fire-filled song.

Without doubt this is a good listen. That statement could be taken to mean that it waters down the discomfort that should normally come from a black metal album, and to an extent that’s true. Such is the style portraying the ferocity that many of the tracks are uplifting. “For Whom is the Night” is a collection of six well-constructed, dark pieces.

(7.5/10 Andrew Doherty)

https://www.facebook.com/libernull

https://digital.immortalfrostproductions.com/album/for-whom-is-the-night