Kasturn – The Torchbearer Fades

Early last year, spring 2023, Kasturn’s ‘Rehearsal Promo 23’ popped up at my radars and knew to impress me, even with only 15 minutes of rawly recorded music. It was the different layers of almost folky melodies, fierce energy and the overall atmosphere that made its Black Metal to fully capture me. With ‘The Torchbearer Fades’ the London, UK-based trio presents their first full-length album.

If this album is anything, it is a continuation of the course set with the previously released short players. All musical ingredients and characteristics are still very much present, yet Kasturn was able to put everything up a level on ‘The Torchbearer Fades’. The melodies are all just slightly catchier, the sound, though still raw, a little more compact and, above all, the band manages to better flesh out its dual layering.

Due a more balanced sound, the individual musical elements do shine clearer through and makes for a more intense listening experience. In fact, on this latest output Kasturn slowly but surely tends to lean towards the ingenuity of the folk-induced bands like Drudkh. The trance inducing nature of the music fits perfectly to the simple but great artwork – something that lead me to listen to ‘Rehearsal Promo 23’ in the first place as well.

The band’s sense of atmosphere and interesting song writing led to an album that perfectly shows Kasturn’s musical aim in offering a well-balanced and sophisticated Black Metal, while still respecting the genre’s basic aesthetics. ‘The Torchbearer Fades’ is a grandiose and majestic piece of work, definitely worth your time.