There are a few things that drew me to this release for review, firstly the band name, which I guess is pretty tacky and something you’d probably have expected to see back in the 80s or early 90s with satanic thrash bands (if I’d seen this band name back then I’d have bought it instantly with no hesitation), secondly the medieval cover art which looks insanely simplistic but does the job and finally the fact that this release, and the debut, are on I, Voidhanger Records, a label renowned for hooking up extremely interesting and intriguing bands in extreme metal. I went into this release on first listen with my ears wide open, wondering what this Spanish band would unveil, headed up by the really talented Heolstor covering all aspects of musicianship, writing and vocals.

With ears firmly open ‘Listen’ begins the opus with a beguiling aura, its chant like pagan black metal ethos is immediately impacting, hypnotic and transfixing as the deft touches musically make your ears dart about wondering what is coming next as ‘Closing Circle’ follows. With a ton of drum work embedded the song continues the pagan like stance using clean vocals amidst the mesmerising structures that see the song veer from those pagan touches to harsh vocalising possessing a caustic nature resembling the summoning of demons from the tropical underworld depths. The title track starkly contrasts with how this album started, ferocious black metal with a hint of blackened thrash added the song is relentless, its avant-garde elements are featured via the tempo deviations and constantly varying instrumentation as the clean vocals add absorbing atmospherics.

Every track here is different in some way, as ‘Chthonic Summoning’ uses clean vocals again with the pagan toning as the song is massively dense with the constant double kick and it is this shaping that gives the album a ritualistic feel, the songs feel like they are beckoning you, encouraging you to immerse yourself in their world, and it works brilliantly. Fans of acts like Heilung and Wardruna will certainly enjoy this even though it is saturated in black metal rage in places, tempered by the more ambient phases that thread through the songs.

‘Anointed With Fire’ returns the album to outright blackened savagery as the blast beat opening shoves itself down your throat alongside the broken glass gargling vocals that ensue. The transforming tempo changes I mentioned don’t seem to apply here, or so you would think until the song plunges into an isolated bleak riff that fans of Winterfylleth will nod their heads to before it returns to unremitting terror which contrasts massively with ‘God Is In The Rain’. Here we get Gothic toning that is remarkably like Dead Can Dance but done in a way that doesn’t feel plagiarised. It is wholly spellbinding, dark tendrils of ominousness crafting a song with seducing guile as the harsh vocals add to the theatrics before the album closes with ‘Severing Light’.

‘Severing Light’ more or less takes you back to how this album started, ritualised drumming producing that tribal feel as the dense backing effects produce a sense of intimidating tension before the switch to a more blackened approach with cleaner vocals. The intensity of this release cannot be overstated and whilst it isn’t inherently fast it has a menacing grandiosity I found entirely immersive, as I am sure you will too and is easily a match, if not better than the debut, ‘Through Doors Of Moonlight’, which I listened to as well, and is also an album you should check out as this is riveting, unique song writing.

(9/10 Martin Harris)

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https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/heart-of-silence