Yoth Iria – Blazing Inferno

All good things must come to an end. Heroes will die and empires will fall… Although Yoth Iria’s ‘As The Flame Withers’ was a more than solid debut album, especially now a few years on I felt that the band’s preceding EP ‘Under This Sway’ was not surpassed by it. In 2023 the band released a digital 2-track EP, but that contained mainly dreary ambient-like music that felt like would mostly fit for intermezzos or other interludes. But a bit of fear already grew in the back of my head, if this was the direction Yoth Iria was going then they were on the road to nowhere.

And although ‘Blazing Inferno’ is not an ambient album nor is it solely filled with dreary interludes, Yoth Iria is definitely on their way out. Basically everything that made ‘Under His Sway’ appealing, the recognizable Greek flavored Black Metal, is gone. You won’t find that matches the beauty of that entrancing Greek sound of old on this second album. The great furious drums are gone as well as the memorable riffs.

Instead Yoth Iria has mellowed out into a fully accessible outfit with flashy guitarwork and leads. As a true lover of the occult atmosphere of the ancient Greek Black Metal, this feels like a downright disappointment. Although I have grown with Rotting Christ and learned to appreciate most of their extensive discography, this sudden switch to radio-friendly Black Metal for Yoth Iria really feels too abrupt.

Of course, musically there is not too much to complain about, as these guys certainly know what they are doing and they are truly capable musicians. But, as we all know, music is not about playing an instrument the right way, music is about feeling and experiencing and they expertly knocked that out. There’s no soul and no depth in any of these songs, with the exception of a few passages that have actually something to offer – but frankly, that’s really just a handful. It is clear that with the leaving of The Magus there is no more Yoth Iria. Yoth Iria was clearly the interaction between The Magus and Jim Mutilator, the sum of two parts…. With one falling away, you get something that really shouldn’t bear the same name.

So, if we’d wrap this up, we could say that the admirers of the ancient Hellenic sound can carry Yoth Iria to its grave and stick to ‘Under His Sway’. Yet, if you are much more into the smooth, overly melodic and toothless Rotting Christ, then ‘Blazing Inferno’ might be an album you will enjoy. But regardless of your personal taste, this album by far is no real blazing inferno. To me it is more like a shadow of a pilot light.