Opus Magorum – The Land Of Shadows [EP]

In a review for a vinyl reissue of an older Opus Magorum demo I already cited that with only releasing demos in rather small quantities the band kept lingering in the shadow realms of (Greek) Black Metal, but since they have been doing this from the very start of the band, I guess the duo feels most comfortable in this specific position. Obviously, this adds to the mystique that surrounds Opus Magorum and fits perfectly in the old school aesthetics of the Black Metal genre as a whole. The only complaining can evolve around the fact that if you like the band’s music, it is not all that easy to obtain anything for your physical collection.

It is not unlikely that, besides that the Inferna Profundus Records-released self-titled demo on 12” is the only thing that you were able to track down. It will therefore have pleased many to add this new 7″ EP, released by Zombi Danz Records, to their collection. However, it does not really contain entirely new recordings. On the A-side of this EP we find ‘The Land Of Shadows’, which was recorded back in 2017 and appeared on the demo tape that also bore the same title. On the other side is ‘Lamentations’, a track that appeared in 2022 as one of three songs from a demo that also appeared under that title. But since both tapes were put into circulation in (extremely) small numbers (20 in the case of ‘Lamentations’), this will therefore be the first time for most listeners to hear these songs. As a side note, it appears to have once been the plan to release ‘The Land Of Shadows’ as part of a split 7′ with Finland’s Ceremonial Torture, which by now seems clear that the chances of it ever coming out are pretty slim.

Musically the two tracks are rather different. In fact, it couldn’t be much more divergent. Still, it fits both to the overall atmosphere of the EP. On the B-side, let’s start there, is a dreamy track that falls somewhere in between Dungeon Synth and old school early 00’s Dark Ambient. Not only does it serve as a great ending of a short EP, the dreamlike state of the music enhances the overall experience of the EP because ‘The Land Of Shadows’, on the A-side, is a track that is not all too similar to the older Opus Magorum recordings. ‘The Land Of Shadows’ is a bass-heavy track that reminds quite a bit of bands like old Varathron, Barathrum, Samael and Mortuary Drape: occult and dark Black Metal laced with sinister keyboards and with an eerie solo in the end. Although there is no Ceremonial Torture, as a whole, both tracks do fit perfectly to the idea of being one part of a split EP with the Finns.

While this EP only holds two tracks, with only one of them being an actual Black Metal track, it once again highlights the dramatic lack of Opus Magorum material. The last recordings were those three instrumental tracks from the 2022 release of the ‘Lamentations’ tape. Needless to say, we will have to wait until both gentlemen treat us to their dark magic again.