Black Metal as it should be?
Keeping the spirit of the past and the feeling of the true underground alive, the Finnish maniacs Goatprayer and Black Moon Necromancer of Moonfall, and the Greek veterans Nyogtha and Porphyrion of Cult of Eibon, have released this year ‘Rites Of The Sabbathic Fullmoon’, a split that recalls legendary shared albums and highlights their unbreakable devotion to the dark spirit of Black Metal.
This split, released so far on CD by the outstanding Belgian label Medieval Prophecy Records, arrives only one year after ‘Odes to the Ritual Hills’, the first full-length by Moonfall, a project formed in 2008 in Hamina, Finland, and one of the many active and exceptional bands of Goatprayer and Black Moon Necromancer, alongside Witchcraft, Funerealm Gloom or Necromonarchia Daemonum.
This is not their first collaboration, as in 2022 Goatprayer and the Athenians of Cult of Eibon released a split but on that occasion together with Ceremonial Torture: ‘Necronomical Mirror Divination’, the previous work by the Hellenes, who were formed in 2015.
Thus, these Finns and Greeks do it again, with a work that will arrive on vinyl at the end of this year through the very same Medieval Prophecy Records, which, by the way, never ceases to release high-quality Black Metal works.
And of course they had to do it again, because Moonfall and Cult of Eibon share a similar musical vision and the ability to create authentic songs accompanied by themes revolving around satanism, occultism and mythology along with carefully crafted arrangements.
This not only a remarkable work because of its music, characterized by prominent bass guitars, the exceptional use of keyboards, the mid-paced approach and that ancient Greek Black Metal sound, but also because of its majestic artwork, created by the legendary Panos Sounas, responsible for renowned works for bands such as Necromantia, Tatir, Funeral Storm, Caedes Cruenta and even Cult of Eibon themselves.
Also, the Moonfall side features a very special guest on vocals on the track ‘Supreme Beast of Darkness’: Oliveira from the Brazilian Black/Doom Metal act Lullaby.
This is a split that should be listened to like any other album: from beginning to end, without pauses or skips, with attentive listening. You can headbang as well. And although this is how it has been listened to in the music room of the person writing this text, precisely and curiously while writing these paragraphs three songs have been in particularly heavy rotation: ‘Last Glow Of Twilight’, ‘Foul Arts Of Hexcraft’ and ‘Sorcery of Stygian Spells’.
The glory days of the extreme metal scene, with legendary splits between bands such as Necromantia and Varathron, may no longer be here, but their spirit lives on, and perhaps more alive than ever before with releases like this and with artists like these dedicated to the true underground and extreme music.
This is not the Last Glow Of Twilight.
The Sorcery of Stygian Spells endures.
Hail the Hamina cult. Hail the Hellenic Black Metal.
Black Metal as it should be.
