There’s a lot to unpack with Hail Conjurer’s 2026 full length ‘Abyss & Ekstasis’. Experimental and seemingly throwing everything at this album, yet weaving it in such a way that flows exceptionally well, with not much left to be desired.
The most notable aspect of the album is that it maintains an atmosphere whilst having a track run that is stylistically across the board. While there are only three ‘main’ tracks among instrumentals, unless we count the last track as well, which is much more noise-oriented, they each exhibit different influences and approaches to their songwriting.
Among the more consistent factors present are the melodic tendencies, especially in the Doom Metal passages that may or may not be intentionally gothic, but paired with the synths, which are a constant that certainly drive the atmosphere, are sometimes reminiscent of early Katatonia. Among that you’ll also hear a good mix of first and second-wave Black Metal; heavy inspiration from ‘Call of the Grave’ can be picked out near the beginning, and by the end of the front half of the album we’re introduced to some brilliant and memorable riffing true to the Finnish style.
Finally, it wraps back around to the aforementioned Doom Metal with an extended and Pagan-esque track, featuring a tastefully placed piano interlude.
Overall, while the album is an amalgamation of things we’ve heard worship of time and time again, it manages to be fresh and unique by combining these influences and creatively manipulating them into new territories. Rather than drilling a single style into a 40 minute album, Hail Conjurer provides us with something that is perhaps inconsistent in structure but not in quality: undeniably true Black Metal.
