Ebullient flames crackle and flicker atop wilting candle wicks like marionettes, carelessly pirouetting within the lightless atmosphere. Oblivious to horrors of the unknown, the shimmering glow accepts its decay, leaving behind the lingering stench of a fiery death dancing in the hollow abyss like a dead autumn leaf. Plumes destined for the inner temple.
The concept of ‘beauty’ is one of perplexing contradiction and undeniable subjectivity in the context of Extreme Metal music. To some, sounds of helplessness and anguish are innately perceived as ‘unpleasant’. To many however, these sounds can move and astound, reverberating through their very cores like palpable seismic activity. Portugal’s one-man raw Black Metal entity, Black Cilice is a project that has embodied and embraced both emotional responses with such efficacy, it has almost begun to dwell within its own cosmic lurking grounds. With that being said, and like an ant corrupted by cordyceps fungus, I once again find myself possessed and spellbound, trudging with a zombified gait towards my headphones to absorb yet another one of this majestic entity’s hypnotic masterclasses.
Dragging you deep within the stifling fire lit catacombs with their 7th full-length studio album ‘Votive Fire’, Black Cilice manages to remove, deconstruct and remould your soul with surgical precision, manipulating it into a malformed, tarry lump. Scheduled for release on 1st May 2026 through the ever-loyal Iron Bonehead Productions, this LP serves as a stark reminder of Portugal’s influence on the raw Black Metal scene, leaving in its wake another indelible imprint on the underground like a boot print in a naysayer’s facial tissue.
Whilst the musical approach generally remains faithful to the traditional Black Cilice sound, there are many novel avenues to be explored amongst this fog laden labyrinth of clandestine mysticism. The omnipresent glow of the triumphant rhythm guitars entice you into their web of discordance like an orb weaver’s stabilimentum, slurping you into a well of lunacy and inescapable torment with their stunning, tremolo picked approach. Subtle leads are cloaked in the light-swallowing mists emanating from the hollow void, harmonising with the gritty rhythms to enhance the aura of sheer mental turmoil from the very opening note to the closing instrumental sermon.
The distant, animalistic howls that were once rife on the band’s early material are still somewhat detectable here, slithering amidst the primordial shadows like a trapped, harrowing memory in the darkest fathom of your brain. Low, mid-register screams and blood-chilling yells leave their hideous marks on your sanity, breeding sinister spectral effluences within your body systems like a celestial parasite.
As with all of their material to date, the drumming insists on abiding by a familiar formula, utilising relentless, unstoppable blast beats to create an endless feeling of unease, leaving you rocking back and forth in the corner of your room like a psychiatric patient in a padded cell. Ritualistic chiming ensues, as the plodding 8th note drum patterns materialise, trapping you, awe stricken and spellbound in euphoria, as the enticing aroma of incense transcends your nostrils and carries you into the outer realms. Despite the murky, lo-fi production, the bass guitar rarely retreats into the haze, instead serving its master in its truest, most audible form, backing up the prominent rhythms like keystones in a castle wall.
Over the years, Black Cilice has remained defiant to trends, and opposed to hype-hopping, sticking to their guns in the adversarial rotting grounds of Black metal. Insistent on releasing what they deem to be ‘true’, they have managed to capture yet another transcendental spark of pure gold, expelled from the belly of Hell itself, and I for one could not be more excited about it. Whether you enjoy the rawer side of the sub-genre, or simply crave an honest challenge, this album is sure to scratch those itches until it strikes bone. Grandiose in every sense of the word.
