Arcanum Inferi – Ars Hermetica (2012)

Finally a Black Metal band that delivers an old-school sound that does not totally suck or sounds exactly like all the other copy cats in the scene. Arcanum Inferi’s debut full-length “Ars Hermetica” delivers a nine-track opus that combines rawness with interesting melodic elements in a devastating manner. Hailing from Italy, this band reminded us of the beginnings of BM, but with a nice crisp rawness that is rare to find these days.

After a very fitting and creepy intro, the band delivers the crushing “Aeterna Damnatio”, a furious in your face song filled with hateful Black Metal riffs and hellish shrieks. The vocals might not be everybody’s cup of tea, but we think they fit the music very well and add that extra layer of brutality to it. The bass guitar line in this song (and release) is particularly excellent and very intense. The mellow into of “Furor Melancholicus” just makes this track even more brutal once the guitar onslaught is brought forth.

Delivering more furious Black Metal with “Obscura Nox Ad Infernos” and “V.I.T.R.O.L”, the band shows no signs of mellowing out and keeps blasting away solid riffs and crushing drum patterns. “Fructus Interdictus” arrives with a milder tempo, but it’s the very eerie sounding “Tabula Smaragdina” that really shakes things up. As our favorite song in the release, the clean vocals really add an epic feeling to the track and reminded us of a mixture of older Borknagar and Ulver from their early days.

Closing the release we have another slower track titled “Silvae Vixidies” that closes the album on a high note and of course with some more blast beats and intense riffing. In general, Arcanum Inferi has delivered a very brutal and old-school Black Metal release that has a clear and crisp production and a hefty amount of excellent riffs. The band never loses their freshness and keeps the music flowing without falling into extreme repetition or a lot of riff-cycling. If you are looking for some killer intense Black Metal with some melodic moments, this is the release for you.

Release: March 23rd, 2012

Genre: Black Metal

Country: Italy