It is the end of October and the inviting dark sounds are beginning to emerge bloodthirsty from behind the veil of the already longer and heavier darkness, smoothly falling upon our longing shadows. The UK’s Strigoi look straight at the black sun and in their usual occult mannerism, present their new EP, ‘Bathed in a Black Sun’, where you can expect nothing but magic, albeit only within 13 minutes…

The record contains five tracks of deep death/black metal metal with industrial elements, recorded during the recording session for the 2022 album ‘Viscera’, in which we can undoubtedly find parallels to the usual work of the band, but also quite clearly differ from the overall concept and sound of the previous album, which is why I understand why the musicians chose to release the songs on a separate release.

Starting with the cathartic title track „Bathed in A Black Sun“, Strigoi lead us into a specific gothic atmosphere where the blackness is condensed to a suffocating degree and uncontrollably invites you to dance in the dark with its pure and unadulterated grime riffs, fierce vocals, slippery sludge strings and rhythmic crust groove. A combination that immediately draws parallels to some of the most iconic tracks ever played in the goth/industrial metal scene. Although a considerably harsh track, incorporating a number of black and death metal elements, and unable to be specifically categorized into one genre, the parallels are palpable and the melody sticks in the mind effortlessly.

„The Grotesque“ – the second track on the record – decides to follow a completely different path, namely full-on death metal/crust aggresion in nearly three minutes, which passes fast and furious like a hurricane, leaving you with „Beautiful Stigmata“, which serves as a short bridge between the album’s four tracks and in its few seconds showcases some of the same compelling death metal assault.

And it doesn’t stop there, of course. The album’s fourth track „A Spear of Perfect Grief“ is a lyrically well-thought-out track that, while following the frenzy of the previous tracks, once again strays from genre boundaries, recalling the vocal range of Greg Mackintosh – here the performance reminds me a lot of Nocturno Culto’s work in Sarke and in general, that old school metal with thrash/punk elements that quite often gets the attention of most of the black metal fans among us.

The finale of the record is set with the track „The Construct of Misery“, which almost apocalyptically erupts within a little over a minute with its fast and monstrous tempo and emotionally charged vocals.

With these five mouth-watering morsels, „Bathed in A Black Sun“ is a breath of fresh air of unpretentious, clean-cut music that follows Strigoi’s roots and delivers their signature eerie and obscure sound, filled with an atmosphere of mystery and an intense classic dose of darkness.

Score: 8/10
(which means „Great“)

Favorite song: „Bathed in A Black Sun“

Hear the title track below:

Band: Strigoi
Album: „Bathed in A Black Sun“,EP
Release date: November 3rd, 2023
Label: Season of Mist
Order link: https://bit.ly/3tPEy8C