Let me start with showing appreciation to the illustrator. It is always a treat to see artwork of the legendary Rotting Reign on the cover of a Black Metal release. This cover in particular reminds me of another Black Metal project in the UK Black Metal scene called Uzlaga.
Now onto the album itself and let me break to you immediately, I hate to say that the cover quality does not correlate with the quality of the music. Their first self-titled album from 2023 was a pretty good yet standard Raw Black Metal release with some choral elements to make it more cinematic and grande. Now, two years later, their sophomore album has a promising start but it is dragging on and the intro to most songs feels the same. The riffs are solid, but they lack a certain ‘spark’ to be instantly memorable.
You can find enjoyment in it though, since it has some nice moments the first couple of songs are really solid, especially the opener ‘The Wretched City’ starts the album of with a nice energy. The whole sonic vibe of the album resembles a bit of Bloedmaan’s debut EP ‘Castle Inside the Eclipse’. While far from being a poor Black Metal release, it ultimately fails to rise above mediocrity. It is a furious blast of Black Metal that can create a good atmosphere but this sub 40-minute album feels too repetitive after a while.
I have no doubt about the passion behind the project and their view on the art of Black Metal, but it unfortunately falls short of standing out from the masses of the genre.
