![iron firmament – empyrean blood [ep]](https://www.vm-underground.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Iron-Firmament-–-Empyrean-Blood-EP-cover.jpg "Iron Firmament – Empyrean Blood [EP]")
‘Empyrean Blood’ is Iron Firmament’s second offering, after last July’s debut EP ‘Keepeater’. That EP already introduced us to an interesting piece of Raw Black Metal that sounded thoroughly authentic and showcased the band’s potential. In succession of that first EP the band presents with five tracks, together clocking in at just over twenty minutes.
Just like its preceding work, ‘Empyrean Blood’ offers us a great portion of Black Metal that mostly reminds of the resurgence of the genre from around the turn of the millennium. Totally riff-based but still melodious and even atmospheric at times. The band clearly takes the basics of bands like Judas Iscariot, early Satanic Warmaster and especially Inquisition to build on their take on the Black Metal genre. But in addition there is lots of hints of the Norwegian scene from the early 90’s as well. The slower and more atmospheric parts resemble a bit of that Folky identity of bands like early Satyricon or Ulver and even a shimmer of the more Heavy Metal-driven side of mid-period Immortal (also evident in the raspy vocal style that also helped the comparison with Inquisition). The EP closes in style with a beautiful instrumental track that acts as an outro of sorts, it mixes a folky strumming melody with a somewhat dreamy ambiental soundscape in which the band’s admiration for those first wave of Norwegian bands comes to fruition. With ‘Empyrean Blood’, in addition to the great first ‘Keepeater’, Iron Firmament for sure proves to be amongst the best and interesting bands from the ever-thriving American Black Metal scene.
