True Black Dawn - Of Thick-circling Shadows (2024)

Finally! After an eight year wait, True Black Dawn is back with another incisive Black Metal release titled “Of Thick-circling Shadows”. Led by Wrath (Ex-Enochian Crescent), this outfit continues to push the boundaries of the genre, creating a very thick and enveloping atmosphere while keeping things raw and quite brutal for over 45 minutes. If you are a fan of BM that is forward thinking and incorporates interesting tempo changes, and a very sickening atmosphere.

Opening with the vicious “Algol”, the band quickly sets a furious mood of harsh aggression with some restraints. After the opener, “The Depths of the Looking Glass”, “Night and Names”, and “The Wind from the Red Cloud” really show the band’s strengths in creating unique rhythmic patterns that go beyond your super repetitive tremolo-picking that is a staple of the genre. This allows for the music to be more sinister and incisive, and perfectly sets up Wrath to change the mood through his versatile vocals.

We like that the band can also deliver on your typical Black Metal style, as tracks like “Words in the Mirror” and “Place of Ash” showcase, but there is always that little extra that the band does to keep things fresh and engaging. Our favorite track has to be the punishing “Volaverunt” and its crafty tempo changes into more creepy and eerie slower passages. Not wanting this release to be over, “The End of Our Age” brilliantly closes this release with a crushing track filled with atmospheric and melancholic horror.

As a whole, “Of Thick-circling Shadows” is one of the more polished Black Metal releases of 2024. The band has always excelled in creating albums that while they feel familiar, they challenge the listener with tons of different elements and explorations within the genre. The long wait for this release was well worth it, so be sure to score a physical copy of this excellent release to add into your collection.

Label: World Terror Committee

Release: July 30th, 2024

Genre: Black Metal

Country: Finland