Description
Deluxe black vinyl edition with a 24 page booklet glued to the gatefold cover
Black metal act Hetroertzen enjoy a certain hermetical aura that many of their contemporaries often fail to invoke. The Chilean ensemble (now located in Sweden) sound akin to a rediscovered 90’s Norse black metal mix tape, dust-caked and well worn, but exuding just enough energy to blow most modern, over-embellished black metal out of the water. Utilising a grandiose atmosphere created by crisper production values that lend real clarity to the instrumentation, while retaining just enough harshness, ‘Ain Soph Aur’ is a sanguine declaration of Hetroertzen’s patent devotion. Attention is initially drawn to proceedings with the use of clean, operatic style vocals that underpin the band’s ritualistic nuances. Complete with their melody-rich, trademark serpentine and arresting riffing, complemented by wholly competent percussion that is reminiscent of the legendary Hellhammer in parts, Hetroertzen boast a special ability to transport the listener back to the aforementioned glory days of their chosen musical genre, and to some of its most hair-raising aural endeavours. Ain Soph Aur is an ambitious release, adding variations in tempo and vocal style to Hetroertzen’s now characteristic sound that was undoubtedly perfected on ‘Exaltation of Wisdom’. There is even some genre crossover to be discovered, as the mid-tempo offering, “The Luminous One”, is surprisingly evocative of death metal Egyptologists Nile. As expected for this release, the layout, design and artwork supplementing the band’s brand of ritual noise is suitably esoteric, appearing and reading like an ancient occult tome. Hetroertzen is far superior than most of what is marketed as black metal of late.
Track list:
1. Dealing With The Veil
2. Blood Royale
3. The Lifting Of The Veil
4. Endless Light
5. Carrying The Forbidden Flame
6. Spirit Eater
7. Procession Of The Silver Fire
8. Enter The Unknown
9. Of Tomb And Thirst
10. The Luminous One
11. The Rose And The Cross
12. Piercing The Veil