Finnish stalwarts of darkness Luciferian Illumination, death, blasphemy and hate Aegrus, unleash their fourth full-length offering of damnation and dark enlightenment ‘’ Invoking The Abysmal Night’’.
From the opening moments of ‘’ Invoking the Abysmal Night,’’ the superior production allows the music to breathe its insidiousness upon the listener.
‘’ Followers of the False Prophets’’ and ‘’Through Devil’s Breath’’ are able to project that 4/4 fury of unbridled second-wave black metal and infuse it with their own swagger that is confident, bathed in darkness and atmospheric fury. The riffing is frenetic and memorable on the inexorable march that is ‘Temple of Ardent Worship’’ whilst ‘’ Nocturnal Rites of Faust’’ is intense and speed ridden, the guitar works a highlight, a companion to the contemptuous vocals of Inculta that shriek condemn and prophesise Armageddon.
The brilliant closer ‘’Where the Forest Emanates Death’’ and its slow intense doom inspired to build up and then plunging whispered invocations epitomises black metal that remains true to its identity yet is unafraid to stretch itself.
Further, the effect of whispers versus shrieks makes each individually more powerful and the riff is a melodious tremolo-ridden masterwork, imminently memorable, the tempo a mid-paced march of misanthropy that is all-encompassing.
Invoking The Abysmal Night is pure Aegrus yet is also experimental and unafraid to pursue its quieter moments against some excellent percussion and subtle guitar work. When it explodes, it does so violently, and its impact is greater.
Aegrus has delivered on the weight of expectation and delivered one of the black metal highlights of 2023!
Aegrus: Facebook
Release Year: 2023
Label: Osmose Productions
Category: Album
Country: Finland
Reviewed by Sparky
