For the uninitiated, Lamp of Murmuur is the solo project of a particular Los Angeles based Black Metal musician who is known by his rather simple stage moniker; ‘M’. 2019 saw the release of three initial demo offerings from Lamp, and over the course of the following six years and three studio albums, M’s output has garnered a certain renown and a moderate fanbase within the contemporary US Black Metal scene. The last full-length manifestation of Lamp of Murmuur arrived in the shape of 2023’s ‘Saturnian Bloodstorm’; an interestingly composed nod to many of traditional Black Metal’s stylistic hallmarks. Manifesting yet again in the latter quarter of 2025, Album number four ‘The Dreaming Prince in Ecstacy’ is an attempt to stretch the musical ambitions of Lamp to new heights whilst being shrouded in an entirely unique thematic veil.
From the outset ‘The Dreaming Prince’ is clearly a boldly considered metamorphosis. Beginning with the anthemic motifs of the instrumental opening track ‘The Fires of Seduction’ before exploding into track two ‘Forest of Hallucinations’, a nine minute epic that begins by refracting the previous track’s melodic motifs aggressively back with a blackened vigour. The song is dictated by the heralding melodies of its progressive lead guitar riffs and doesn’t meander for a single moment throughout its entire runtime. Track three: ‘Hategate’ indulges in some of the catchy Immortal appraisals that were evidently displayed on the previous album, but the crunchy guitar tones and the writing feel much more at home amongst the tracklisting of ‘The Dreaming Prince…’.
Tracks six, seven, and eight all form different segments of the titular piece. Part one ‘Moondance’ begins with an element of cleaner guitar tracking amongst the distorted main progression and some very earwormy chugging that forms the spine of its neoclassical structure. Tracks six and seven both display certain Gothic leanings with the occasional use of cleaner sounding vocals and moody but calmer instrumental breaks. The third movement, track eight ‘The Fall’ is a big way to close out this grandiose statement, and it does so rather amazingly by taking you on a thrilling journey. The song is cemented upon a base of creative guitar riffs and gang vocals, but also a harpsichord section, and later in the track we are treated to a very triumphant melodic guitar solo after some marching snare drum embellishments. The final track ‘A Brute Angel’s Sorrow’ eases the experience to a close and serves to reiterate the previous track’s triumphant nature with its percussive chimes and acoustic guitar strumming.
‘The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy’ is easily my favourite release from Lamp of Murmuur thus far; the beautiful, classically minded and gothic approach serves to make it an obvious standout amongst a sea of releases in this style that I have digested throughout 2025. I’m sure that this album will be sure to grab the attention of both Black Metal purists and progressives far and wide upon release. (Huw)
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Lamp of Murmuur’s fourth ‘The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy’ is a feverish descent into lace-draped delirium, a lush Black Metal opera that trades corpsepainted austerity for something far more decadent, theatrical, and dreamlike.
With this 2025 release, M. has not only shed the lo-fi skin of his early work but fully embraced a baroque, gothic maximalism that feels both timeless and transgressive.
‘The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy’, is not just a mere continuation of the project’s upward trajectory, it’s a bold reframing of what Black Metal can be when filtered through different musical genres and unbridled ritualistic ambitions.
From the opening moments, the album casts a spell. ‘The Fires of Seduction’, a spectral instrumental, unfurls like a haunted overture, piano, synth, and ambient textures swirling in a mist of incense, dusk and dread.
‘Forest of Hallucinations’, over 9 minutes long – this opus sets the standard for the entire album. Luscious, opulent, haunting grand Black Metal.
But it’s in the transition to ‘Hategate (The Dream-Master’s Realm)’ that the record bares its fangs: icy tremolo riffs and punishing blast beats crash against lush, melodic undercurrents, evoking a strange union of Immortal and Diabolical Masquerade. M.’s vocals remain vicious, but they’re now counterbalanced by ghostly clean passages and layered harmonies. Most notably on ‘A Brute Angel’s Sorrow,’ which features a haunting guest appearance by Crying Orc of Këkht Aräkh.
The album’s centerpiece, the three-part title suite, is a revelation. ‘The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy I: Moondance’ channels an intoxicating melancholy, its slow-burning riffs and synth flourishes evoking a dreamstate somewhere between Ved Buens Ende and Bloodstorm. ‘Part II: Twilight Orgasm’ is more aggressive, yet still drenched in gothic grandeur, its melodies soaring like cathedral arches. And ‘Part III: The Fall’ closes the triptych with a sense of tragic finality, its martial rhythms and choral textures suggesting a descent not into hell, but into some forgotten sepulchral.
What’s most striking is how ‘The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy’ refuses to be pinned down. It’s Black Metal, Sure, but it’s also romantic, psychedelic, and cinematic. There are echoes of Dungeon Synth, second-wave fury, and even, post-Punk shards. The production is rich, saturated and immersive, with a low-end that feels almost ritualistic in its weight, and guitars that shimmer and snarl in equal measure.
This is not just an album, it’s a world. A feverish dream of decandence, on opus magnum. M. has crafted something rare: a Black Metal record that seduces rather than assaults, that invites the listener not to war, but to waltz. Needless to say that ‘The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy’ is Lamp of Murmuur’s most ambitious and fully realized work to date, a triumph of vision, atmosphere, and unflinching artistic will.
Mandatory album for the collection… (LV)
