Blaze of Perdition - The Harrowing of Hearts (2020)

Unleashing an early front-runner for Black Metal album of the year, today we have Blaze of Perdition and their fifth full-length release. Featuring over 50 minutes of sinister music, this release delivers the perfect mixture of atmosphere, brutality and melody that few achieve. As their first release through Metal Blade Records, the band showcases a ravaging sound that is ready to be massively divulged.

The opener “Suffering Made Bliss” delivers a devastating blow of layered guitars, hellish vocals and bestial drumming that slowly eases into crafty and more melodic passages with a throbbing bass guitar line. Using creepy samples and a very hypnotic atmosphere, “With Madman’s Faith”, builds up on the first onslaught and unleashes a more sinister and hellish side to the band, additional to their pummeling and ravaging onslaughts.

Our favorite track in this release is the intricate “Transmutation of Sins”, a track that perfectly layers guitars while creating a very bleak and yet playful atmosphere. The melodic component of this track explores outside the traditional BM elements with some traditional rock/dark rock vibes. This darker sense of melody is further explored on “Królestwo Niebieskie” and its creepy clean vocal elements. The band’s ability to expand their genre is quite impressive as tracks like “What Christ Has Kept Apart”, give you a certain familiar vibe while exploring new ideas.

Closing with the imposing brutality of “The Great Seducer” and a very cool cover of “Moonchild” from the Fields of the Nephilim. The band makes a grandiose statement with this crushing release, showcasing the power and versatility of their sound. Not afraid of pushing their boundaries “The Harrowing of Hearts” is one brilliant and well polished release that should put Blaze of Perdition in the radar of all Metal fans.

Label: Metal Blade Records

Release: February 14th, 2020

Genre: Black Metal

Country: Poland