From their EPK, "SOTABOSC was founded in 2023 in Barcelona by Oscar Linares and Manel Song, known for their work in SYBERIA, together with Xavi Forne, creator of the dark-folk project ULMUS and founder of Error! Design. Firmly rooted in an anti-fascist ethos, SOTABOSC conveys its message through lyrics sung entirely in Catalan and a carefully crafted visual identity, including artwork, logos, stage aesthetics and graphic materials. The band's debut album unfolds in two complementary sections. The first has lyrics that focus on animals, forests and the natural environment, forming a narrative arc that connects with the second half of the album. The second half consists of a single track exceeding 15 minutes, where SOTABOSC expresses its purest musical identity: raw black metal roots, expansive instrumental passages and experimental structures inspired by post-rock. With this debut, SOTABOSC establishes a project in which identity, narrative intent, and sonic depth merge into an artistic statement that is both musical and political."

"Nerthus" is first. It opens quietly, with some background ambiance, and some tension. Just when you start to get uncomfortable, an aggressive riff drops. Drums move fast, and the harsh vocals are mostly screams. Approaching the halfway mark, the sound drops, to clean guitars and solemn tones, but the rage returns. "Heimdall" is slower, and toggles between tones of hope and despair. It also has a core power that you can feel, deep in your bones. It picks up again, with an aggressive rage that borders on contention. "Freyja" begins with gentle tones that are quite melancholy, and it feels like that state you are in when your eyes open for the first time in the morning…dreamy. Suddenly, a bomb goes off and the song falls into darkness. Rays of light squeeze into the concrete, but they have a hard time shining.

The 17-minute "El batec dels Maquis / Records vius en la foscor" is the final song. Opening like the morning fog lifting at first sunlight, it's almost poetic. Aggression storms out of nowhere, like the three-headed dog that sees someone trying to slip past the gates of the entrance to hell. There is a delicate balance between the despair that desperately tried to drag you down and your will to hang on for one day at a time. The sound drops after the halfway mark, and give you a chance to decide what to do next when you know the aggression will return. Do you run and hide? Take up arms? When it returns, it comes with a side of desolation. It's the kind that sinks arrows into one after another until you are unable to get up. The bowman suddenly leaves the battlefield, knowing his acts were fatal.

This was an excellent album, and I felt that I was following a story of resolve, will, and survival along the journey. It also holds delicate balance in the fingers of a higher being, who could turn the dial one way or the other, but just lets it play out as intended. Heavy with emotion, it's the kind of album that will get under your skin and forces your hand.