All over the world, there are bridges that bear the name ‘Devil’s Bridge’. This name usually stems from local folklore, in which it is claimed that the Devil himself had a hand in the construction. Which specific Devil’s Bridge is depicted on the cover of Lvthn’s new record remains unclear, even after an intensive Google search. Visually, it bears the closest resemblance to a bridge in Tuscany.
Yet the band’s origins lie not in sunny Tuscany, but in rain-soaked Belgium. Founded in 2013, Lvthn were last heard from in 2016 with their split release alongside Häxenzijrkell. Now, six years later, the Belgians return with their second full-length album. Musically, they offer a merciless strain of Black Metal: raw, harsh, and above all fast—yet varied enough to keep the listener gripped throughout.
“This is a work of devotion. A weapon of Will. A hymn to Lucifer, as light-bearer and destroyer alike…. It is music as weapon. Music as curse. Music as rite.” so reads the accompanying info sheet—and the description is by no means exaggerated. What resounds here is no arbitrary noise, but a storm of intent: music as a weapon that strikes without mercy, as a curse that embeds itself in your mind and keeps you awake at night. It is music that does not simply touch the listener, but scorches them—leaving behind scars.
At the same time, a ritual unfolds—a trance that pulls you ever deeper, as if you become a participant in a rite performed for centuries in the dark. Every note is an offering, every riff a blade that cuts, every drumbeat a hammer blow upon the anvil of will. It is devotion, yet equally destruction: a hymn that summons both light and darkness, binding the listener between exaltation and damnation.
With this ‘Devil’s Bridge’, Lvthn reveal themselves not only effective but also unexpectedly inventive. It is as though they open a gateway to another dimension, where light and darkness devour and empower one another. This approach lends their music an added layer: at once uncompromising and annihilating, yet also hypnotic and entrancing. A ritual tour de force that is without question worth experiencing—or better yet, undergoing.
