Ahamkara - The Harrow of the Lost (2025)

Hailing from the UK, today we have Atmospheric Black Metal outfit Ahamkara, with their sophomore release “The Harrow of the Lost”. With a more than 10 year gap between releases, this outfit nicely delivers four tracks and over 42 minutes of music that blends elements from outfits like Saor, Fen, Fellwarden, and Panopticon. Creating a very organic and effective sound, this band masterfully crafts immersive atmospheres that will capture the listener’s attention.

Creating a very mellow and intoxicatingly bleak atmosphere, “The Circle of Remembrance” opens this release with a slow burning approach that quickly is flanked by piercing riffs and harrowing harsh vocals. Austin Lunn of Panopticon fame handles the drums in this release, keeping things tight and very versatile as each track changes moods. The band’s atmospherics are subtle and never overbearing, thanks to Alexandra Blenkarn-Durning keyboards and effects, like on “Our Scars Shall Abide In The Thaw”, a very elegant track that blends in fierceness with Alcest-like dreaminess.

The band’s mastermind, Michael Blenkarn, perfectly creates intricate songs that change styles and tempos in a very polished way, as “Channelling Grief” has that Agalloch-esque way of shapeshifting. Other songs like “Ordeal of Ascension” are just fierce and focus more on aggression that masterfully converges into melodic passages and interludes, allowing the listener to fully embrace the duality and power of the band’s music.

As a whole, “The Harrow of the Lost” is a very powerful release with a distinctive sound amongst the scores of Atmospheric Black Metal bands. Never overbearing or too folky, this release is very well balanced to create masterful contrasting elements that seamlessly blend together. If you are into the genre, but are looking for something a bit out of the norm, check out Ahamkara and their music.

Label: Bindrune Recordings

Release: April 25th, 2025

Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal

Country: UK