Review by Felix on April 20, 2026.

Back in the mid-eighties, "Brutal Destruction" was the name of an album from Belgium. Cyclone, recently re-vitalised, sang about "Incest" and further nice things. This was okay, but it still took 30 years, until Flemings and Walloons experienced the real devastation. With the first releases of Possession, everything was upgraded to a significantly higher level of murderous energy. Of course, bands like early Ancient Rites, Enthroned and Slaughter Messiah had already catapulted the home of Tintin on the global black metal map. But Possession have their very own approach and, despite a long period of silence, they have not changed it. Mega-heavy guitars fascinate with stoic, minimalistic lines or they create a raging inferno as soon as the drums give full speed ahead. Both facets are united by their mercilessness. Each and every second of "The Mother Of Darkness" reflects hell. No doubt, the vision of a place of total torture has been translated into a form of black / death metal which is almost second to none.

It is amazing to see how the quintet creates such a gargantuan impact without using extraordinary tools. The comeback is filled to the brim with sinister leads, hellish screams, death-heralding lines and almost exploding drums. All these ingredients are great, but they do not explain the infernal magic that distinguish Possession. The way how they combine the elements, how they put their conviction in each and every tone and how they avoid any sign of open-mindedness for influences from other genres – this and their outstanding songwriting skills make the difference from my point of view. Violent killer songs such as "Latrodectus Tela" or the title track appear like a mixture of alarming air raid sirens, a thousand thunders and a choir of tortured souls. Not to mention "The Wild Hunt (Let Them Run)". No, my friends of Watain, this is not the kind of wild hunt you know (which is, by the way, not wild at all, but a commercial stinker). Possession are breaking bones left, right and centre and they love to do it in an apocalyptic speed. However, they are also able to integrate some morbid guitar tones (beginning at 3:19) which coalesce with the general Armageddon the song represents. You have survived this track? You are entitled to get a free hearing aid for the rest of your life.

The sheer vehemence of the material does not mean that spirituality does not play its role here. The songs appear blood-soaked and possessed by a thousand demons. A murderous atmosphere takes possession of the listener, while "Evil" is written in extremely big letters all over "The Mother Of Darkness" and the expressiveness of the diabolic voice puts the cherry on the cake. The guy who is responsible for vocals combines three virtues in one person: he has been a part of Cruel Force, he has been involved in Nocturnal and he is German (well, this is a discussable advantage). Anyway, speaking of Cruel Force, this spring really spends a lot of great albums – and "The Mother Of Darkness" is one of them. It is a record whose production is just one plus point which cannot be overlooked. Not overly transparent, but perfectly placed in the middle between foggy/dark and professional/clear, the all of the regular eight songs burst out of the boxes and transform my living room in a wasteland of ashes and embers. Okay, not really, but it feels exactly like this. Anyway, if I would not be already f**king 57 years old, I would join the "Young Blood Ritual" immediately, to mention another superb song.

If there is something on "The Mother Of Darkness" I would not describe with the word perfect, it is the configuration with one intro and two outros. Of course, the intro with the ominous keyboards, the intense ringing of bells and the demonic whispers sets the stage and the insane sounds of the fiddle in the middle of the album have a horrifying or psychopathic charm, but why does "Cry-Shine-Die" have its own intro additionally? Why do we get another outro at the end of the track list? Anyway, all these minor details fade away when it comes to the great picture. "The Mother Of Darkness" is pure horror at the junction of black and death metal, complete morbidity, relentless misanthropy – the total triumph of a blasphemous yet maliciously elegant bestiality. Anything less than a clear-cut recommendation to buy this work would be an unforgivable mistake. Perhaps even the guys of Cyclone bow down to this form of brutal destruction.

Rating: 9.4 out of 10