Review by Felix on June 30, 2020.

Is there anything more stupid than thinking about Christmas at the end of June? Surely not. Yet I have heard that Santa Claus is living in Finland, exactly in Rovaniemi. Well, I fear it’s a tough surrounding for the dude with the red clothes, because his neighborhood does not really like to practice Christianity. Instead, the people around him love to forge and play frosty black anthems. Hex Inferi, another Finnish solo artist, writes the next chapter of Suomi black metal. Isn’t it great to see how the never-ending story gets longer and longer? Moreover, isn’t it only logical in view of the omnipresent aggression in the land of the thousand lakes that Santa Claus only dares to leave his house once a year?

Under the banner of Kryptamok, Hex Inferi keeps firing full blast over the entire playtime of 38 minutes. It’s typically Finnish, because the output sounds violent, triumphant, pretty icy, occasionally melancholic and very determined. Wrapped in a sound of opaque obscurity, the material reflects both the musical integrity and the almost patriotic attitude of the Finnish-singing lone fighter. His songs present compositional creativity as well as the will to offer black metal without the smallest additives from any other genre. The extremely raw vocals echo over the Northern ground, the intriguing, genre-immanent melody fragments avoid useless bombast and the rhythm section knows to vary the tempo in an effective and dynamic way. The dramatic beginning of 'Rottien Reformaatio' (Santa doesn’t like this title) goes hand in hand with the vehemence of the following sequences and the atmospheric yet powerful instrumental sequence crowns the track impressively. Hex Inferi adds some dark Viking choirs (without sounding embarrassing) and the song reveals an enormous depth. But don’t get me wrong, this is just one highlight of an album whose protagonist hates mediocrity. True black metal maniacs will also understand the furious opener, 'Susien Ӓitee' or 'Pymeiden Tyranni' as a call to close ranks. It doesn’t matter whether or not the songs have a hymnal touch or an affinity for brutality. They are all convincing and as cold as a Lappish winter night.

What do you say? You would prefer to hate the compact, homogeneous and vigorous album? I am sorry to inform you that I cannot deliver good arguments for your position. Yes, you’re right, obviously Verisaarna does not “take the next step” concerning the evolution of (Suomi) black metal. But honestly speaking, I am pretty happy with the form that Kryptamok’s (and my) kind of black metal shows. It’s uncompromising, it’s sinister and competently arranged – what more do you want? Okay, maybe you are one of these guys who say to a cute girl “your lips are erotic, your eyes are beautiful, and your t**s are fascinating, but sorry, I’ve already seen all these things before in a comparable design”, but I am different. I can endure to see such things on several occasions. Additionally, I cannot get enough of authentic black metal and the ever-fertile Finnish scene enriches my metallic existence. Maybe even Santa Claus likes to listen to this music secretly.

Rating: 8.6 out of 10

Review by Michael on September 23, 2023.

With Seven Crowns And Seven Seals the German Lovecraft worshippers release their fourth (and at least by me long-awaited) album. If the guys from the Ruhr area, who have grown to a quintet since 2018, have looked more and more in the direction of black metal on their last albums in addition to gloomy death metal, these influences have been significantly reduced on Seven Crowns And Seven Seals in favor of more classic metal influences and a very appealing atmosphere to spread.

The band starts with a very spherical and melancholic intro ('Sombre Tidings') before they mercilessly let the hammer strike with their first real song 'Hammer From The Howling Void'. At least for the first forty seconds, because from then on very atmospheric and thoughtful passages, which come across very melodic, creep into the song again and again. And that's exactly what runs as a red thread through the album, this atmosphere, which was in it already here and there on the previous albums, but not as superficial as on Sulphur Aeon 2023. If you don't want to wait so long for this atmosphere, but experience it directly, you should listen to the beginning of 'Usurper Of The Earth And Sea' - here you immediately get an oppressive feeling through the acoustic guitar and the whispered words and shortly after that the Lovecraftian inferno begins, what you are used to from Sulphur Aeon. Monolithic riffs, relentless growls and pounding drums that herald the end of the world. But as everywhere on the album not only dark storms and the end of the world prevail, not everywhere in between the sun shines again through misty wispy clouds and donates some comfort.

In the title track the band collaborates with Laurent from Chapel Of Disease as well as Michael Zech (Secrets Of The Moon), whereby a truly epic death metal song has come out, which is difficult to put into words. The song begins very majestic-dragging, so it turns in the course of the almost nine minutes in an all-consuming maelstrom of Lovecraftian madness. Shimmering guitars whisper around the ears of the listener and the clear vocals of M whisper warmly sung words to drag the listener even further into the vastness of madness. Alone these clear vocals is another, although not entirely new, feature that the incredible span of the music of Sulphur Aeon again expanded by a considerable way and makes it much more accessible than it was the case before. And for the crowning conclusion Sulphur Aeon summoned a few Mesopotamian gods 'Beneath The Ziqqurat'. Here the band shows once again all their skills and ignites a real death metal firework and so intense that you can definitely get goosebumps listening to one or the other part.

It is truly difficult for me to put this monster of an album into the right words, but it is certain that Sulphur Aeon have surpassed themselves with Seven Crowns And Seven Seals. I would not have thought that they could have gone one better after the already superb The Scythe And Cosmic Chaos, but they have taught me better. However, they now also set the bar very high for the next album. But now the time has come to appreciate this fantastic album accordingly. Only one thing remains for me, namely to award the highest score.

Rating: 10 out of 10 ziqqurats

Review by Michael on September 23, 2023.

With Seven Crowns And Seven Seals the German Lovecraft worshippers release their fourth (and at least by me long-awaited) album. If the guys from the Ruhr area, who have grown to a quintet since 2018, have looked more and more in the direction of black metal on their last albums in addition to gloomy death metal, these influences have been significantly reduced on Seven Crowns And Seven Seals in favor of more classic metal influences and a very appealing atmosphere to spread.

The band starts with a very spherical and melancholic intro ('Sombre Tidings') before they mercilessly let the hammer strike with their first real song 'Hammer From The Howling Void'. At least for the first forty seconds, because from then on very atmospheric and thoughtful passages, which come across very melodic, creep into the song again and again. And that's exactly what runs as a red thread through the album, this atmosphere, which was in it already here and there on the previous albums, but not as superficial as on Sulphur Aeon 2023. If you don't want to wait so long for this atmosphere, but experience it directly, you should listen to the beginning of 'Usurper Of The Earth And Sea' - here you immediately get an oppressive feeling through the acoustic guitar and the whispered words and shortly after that the Lovecraftian inferno begins, what you are used to from Sulphur Aeon. Monolithic riffs, relentless growls and pounding drums that herald the end of the world. But as everywhere on the album not only dark storms and the end of the world prevail, not everywhere in between the sun shines again through misty wispy clouds and donates some comfort.

In the title track the band collaborates with Laurent from Chapel Of Disease as well as Michael Zech (Secrets Of The Moon), whereby a truly epic death metal song has come out, which is difficult to put into words. The song begins very majestic-dragging, so it turns in the course of the almost nine minutes in an all-consuming maelstrom of Lovecraftian madness. Shimmering guitars whisper around the ears of the listener and the clear vocals of M whisper warmly sung words to drag the listener even further into the vastness of madness. Alone these clear vocals is another, although not entirely new, feature that the incredible span of the music of Sulphur Aeon again expanded by a considerable way and makes it much more accessible than it was the case before. And for the crowning conclusion Sulphur Aeon summoned a few Mesopotamian gods 'Beneath The Ziqqurat'. Here the band shows once again all their skills and ignites a real death metal firework and so intense that you can definitely get goosebumps listening to one or the other part.

It is truly difficult for me to put this monster of an album into the right words, but it is certain that Sulphur Aeon have surpassed themselves with Seven Crowns And Seven Seals. I would not have thought that they could have gone one better after the already superb The Scythe And Cosmic Chaos, but they have taught me better. However, they now also set the bar very high for the next album. But now the time has come to appreciate this fantastic album accordingly. Only one thing remains for me, namely to award the highest score.

Rating: 10 out of 10 ziqqurats