Review by Jeger on April 6, 2026.

To die without regrets is the goal; one seldom met and oft relinquished unto a life of transgression, but alas! In those final ponderous moments, as the shadows begin to thicken and as the comfort of eternal slumber slowly takes you shall you begin to understand what it all means, or perhaps, for you, it boils down to nothing more than perdition's fate to seal the deal. Leaving you to your guilt-ridden thoughts. Mind racing through all of the times you wish you had back. Or perhaps the time for warring has come to a close for you… Battle-hardened, deathly wounded and all alone - left to your final minutes. And so another Black Metal album has been written…

Finland's Bloody Valkyria have returned! Exactly one year following the release of their sophomore effort, 2025's "In Our Home, Across The Fog", Bloody Valkyria are set to unveil their third offering, "Requiem: Reveries Of The Dying", by way of true BM Artisans, Northern Silence Productions. Epic is the way and elegance is the accent to this grande composition of Black Metal. To follow up their previous record will be no minuscule task, but from what I'm hearing here during the intro to the opening track, "Symphony Of Silence", Bloody Valkyria are more than up for it. And once the riffs and rhythms begin to shape the track, then it all starts to come together: a dying warrior's final moments or even hours spent in reflection, Sun setting o'er the land and over his heart with the utmost somber. And the atmosphere is radiant of triumph; flutes and the like give way to a more sinister ambiance during the following track, "Life's Worth", as the atmosphere is stripped away; exposing the malignant body of the song: penetrating riffs and godlike rhythms. Synth like crystalline sound and eerie chorales create an experience bordering on the divine. The high fantasy plots of the previous album turned inward both musically and thematically. What a nice transition from one album to the next.

In our final moments, we discover who we truly are, we begin to understand what's important right in time for the casket. A waste if you ask me, a cruel joke! Such is our existence but with albums like "Requiem: Reveries Of The Dying", we can see it cast in a different, more eloquent tone. There's beauty in the end and there is most certainly beauty here. Bloody Valkyria - the most important band on the Atmospheric scene and "Requiem" - an album of world-beating music, but it's all simply par for the course apparently, because BV just make it sound easy. So austere is the sound, so epic and imposing that it will imprint itself onto your psyche for years to come.

An album for a Phoenix-like rising! Even though death is the main concept, there's just this air of victory to it during some parts, while others evoke feelings of longing, yearning for the time lost, only to be reminded of the final outcome that awaits just around the corner. And then we have "When Everything Feels Like Nothing" - a melancholy intro bleeds into gentle synth-accented, mammoth cadences. An alternation between epic and sorrowful transpires and this delicate balance is bonded surely by haunting melodic sequences that stir the spirit in ways that only BM can.

We'll get there someday - that place of reflection on our bed of death and it's coming faster than you think. The wise man is always prepared for the end and we can only hope for an honorable death like the one experienced by our desolate Knight here on the cusp of a Valley that feels as if it's all his own as the light fades. I don't know how they accomplished it, but Bloody Valkyria has created two perfect, back-to-back LPs. Observe as they tighten their grip upon the ABM Movement. If it were a competition, there would be only Grima to compete with here on the highest echelon of Black Metal. BM for revelation, for contemplation and for passing on. Pure poetry.

Rating: 10 out of 10

Review by Adam M on February 13, 2018.

Tristania performs gothic metal to the fullest extent. They are interesting in that apply multiple vocalists in both male and female types for their wares. The music here moves at a medium momentum and attempts to drip atmosphere into the tracks with the use of keyboards and more atmospheric elements. The effect is a pleasant one as the songs here certainly have an upbeat feeling that is very nice to listen to.

However, they are not as depressing as the likes of My Dying Bride and certainly sway towards a more positive spectrum of things. The emotion and passion of the band are felt, but there is even more emotion on display from some of the other acts in this genre such as Moonspell. A comparison to that band finds them being more varied, but less impactful overall. The compositions on this album are long and intricate enough. However, the music comes across as slightly simplistic sounding and this is a flaw with the work. The music is still very dense and exciting. The guitars form a nice swirling backdrop of emotional impact and they provide a nice blueprint for the material. The use of other strings and keyboards is nice and adds a layer of atmosphere to the mix.

This album provides a solid viewpoint for the gothic metal genre, though it isn’t perfect by any means. It still showcases the manners of adding sorrow and emotional outpourings to the music in fine fashion. One wishes the album would make the impact of My Dying Bride’s best material for example, but this is a notch below that output. Widow’s Weeds is still a very solid gothic metal album and worth a listen from anyone calling themselves a fan of the genre. May the atmosphere reign the day with Tristania.

Rating: 7.7 out of 10