Romanian bands are something special. This magic country that gave us Vlad Tepes and shrouded in Carpathian fog provides yet another superb opus to our black metal hearts. This time it is Wormgod from Bucharest area. This duo gave us their first full length although the band has been in existence since 2009 releasing one demo and single, but it has been nine years of ominous quiet and then this jewel. What to expect on this one? Well, you can bet that these nine hymns are excellent and I recommend them to any fan of melodic black metal with lots of atmosphere and melancholy in the song structures. This album reminds me a lot of nineties black metal and the reason why I love this music, the mix of aggression and melody, melancholy and battle. From the all out blast beat epic melody of My Blood, across more mid tempo and atmospheric The Blossom Of Fear which is one of my personal favorites, to epic Failure’s Reign and Olden Crusade, this one is a black metal opus par excellence. There are some a bit more modern parts, I would dare to call them post black metal in some song structures but that parts bring more eeriness and haunting feeling. Lyrics are, as you can see in English language and they deal with more personal side of hauntings, dealing with demons and darkness. Vocals are excellent, screamed but not too over the edge, fit just great in the songs. This is one of the better black metal releases this year.
8/10
