„Here I am at the Twilight Crossroads,
In front of the Desert Temple…“

In times of total decline and  regression of the human species, it has never been more important for this world to be surrounded by bands  that shine a light on the significant and sometimes  still unknown experiences beyond the mediocre swamp most dive in. Musicians  that raise the primal energy of the human mind and soul to a higher level. This is what black metal is rooted in, isn’t it?  The genre was never just about the music and the quality riffs, but an important  guardian of far more valuable concepts and ideology.

Bythos is a name that most of you probably know – with their debut full-length album „The Womb of Zero“ released in 2020, the Finnish black metal band swept the underground world  and made a real  impression with their unique symbiosis between melodic ephemeral sound  and primal destructiveness wrapped in a Luciferian enigma.
I don’t think it’s particularly important to share that the three suspects behind the band’s creativity are also members of Behexen and Horna, but in the same time  it would answer some potential questions. Still, if you haven’t heard anything from Bythos until now – expect something different from what the musicians show in the bands in question, said  in a completely postitive way.

With their new full-length album, ‘Chthonic Gates Unveiled’, Bythos go even further into the complex and ancient world of darkness. Dedicated to the chthonic forces ruling the underworld, the album continues the musical theme begun in ‘The Womb of Zero’, offering listeners an even more raw and captivating opus, steeped in esoteric motifs and beautiful mysterious atmospheres accompanied by haunting depths . You will hear an album where the fall happens instantaneously and jolts the mind through ferocious brutality, enveloping cosmic void, ritualistic soundscapes, shimmering melodic riffs and keyboards.

The album opens with the song „Divine Endless Night (part I)“, which at the very beginning introduces the cryptic atmosphere of the album with its beautiful intro, wrapped in cold ‘Trondheim’ sounding riffs, and M.S.’s cavernous emotionally charged voice that soars into the space and marks the beginning of the deep dive  into the  chthonic debris. Additionally, the ritualistic incantations create a specific occult feel to the record and make it even more enticing to listen to.

The more melodic track ‘Thoughtless Light’ – the next on the album – acts as a slight deviation from the band’s typical rawness, incorporating ethereal pianos in some of its parts, and the riffs themselves delve more into melodic black metal than usual and are reminiscent of the masterclass in the 90s. If you didn’t know that this song belongs to the year 2024, you’d hardly hesitate that it’s an absolute classic.

In each subsequent track, you can find at least one standout element that sets it apart from all the others, although carrying one heart – the primal force of Bythos.
In some of the tracks you’ll hear a furious  eerie and delightful cacophony of dark hallucinogenic hellish calls („Wolves of Hades“), in others you will be surprised by clean guitar melodies and more lively melodic compositions („Hidden Heart of Darkness“, „Resurrection“), and some  will offer you the direct feeling of the melodic classics from the beginning of the birth of the genre, to which the individual musicians have indeed contributed to over the years, combined with more brutal energy and direct aggression than usual for the genre, but well known to the already established fans of the band („Thoughtless Light“, „Broken twines of Eden“, „Ancient Kings Arise“, „Daimon of Nullification“).

The final track on the album, „Gates of Apostasy (part II)“, even features some Hellenic motifs and ritualistic chants, which combined with the massive Luciferian charge of the lyrics, the combination of the different  instruments, and the razor-sharp vocals, lend an ancient atmosphere to  the piece and lead to  a majestic and  mystical ending for the whole album.

Mysterious, profound and uncontainable within a specific stylistic framework, „Chthonic Gates Unveiled“ is a work that offers much food for thought and acts as a salve for the senses. Dark, raw and charged with extreme ferocious energy, yet melodic at the same time and with some truly genius inclusions in the instrumental and vocal performances, Bythos’ new album offers a transcendental experience that will drag you to the underground realms and unknown teritories of the ancient  chthonic forces through fascinating melodies and echoing deep voices that will enchant you within a blink of an eye.

You can hear some of the album tracks below:

Album: „Chthonic Gates Unveiled“
Band: Bythos
Release Date: 19.04.2024
Label: Terratur Possessions
Link: https://bit.ly/3IEhCxd