I remember watching The Return of the King when it first came out in movie theaters. I was blown away by Peter Jackson's portrayal of the whole Lord of the Rings trilogy, but the moment that sent shivers up my spine was when the Witch King of Angmar was mounted upon his Fellbeast and he sent forth a cry that was so ear-piercingly loud. Due to being a movie theater with a proper sound system, I literally squirmed in my seat and covered my ears. Say what you want about those movies, but at that moment, I felt I was in the presence of something terrifyingly evil. Its force of will is nothing but pure malice and hatred. To quote J.R.R. Tolkien himself, he was determined to bring "...ruin, turning hope to despair, and victory to death." This is the best way to describe the onslaught of the senses that is "Æstivation" by CULT OF ERINYES.

Holding to the Black Metal aesthetic, I had a challenging time trying to track down information about this band. There's a lot that we don't know, but there are some things that we do know. They are based out of Brussels, Belgium, have been making waves on the Black Metal scene for quite some time now. The more that I am discovering Black Metal, I'm noticing that I tend to gravitate more towards groups that avoid the typical satanic trappings you would expect to find in this sub-genre. Taking their name from Greek mythology and the cult that worshiped these subterranean goddesses of vengeance, it easy to imagine this chaotic cacophony of anger and rage to be the soundtrack of a worship service for the Erinyes.

The strengths of this album are manifold; it's plain to see that these Belgians understand that we are more afraid of what we don't know then what we do know. The lyrics cannot be really understood, but that adds to the drama and attention of the listening experience. I am also surprised at the lead guitar work from Baron, who comes in with guitar solos that fit the song perfectly every single time throughout the album. But what I really enjoyed about this was from start to finish, they avoid the stereotypical tropes of Black Metal to create a rather horrifying and unsettling experience. CULT OF ERINYES makes no apologies for the fact that this is challenging music to consume, and art makes the listener intentionally uncomfortable.

So to wrap up, this is Black Metal that avoids the cheesiness and the campiness that tends to plague most modern bands in this genre. Every bit of "Æstivation" is chaotic, angry, and eager to devour your essence. You get the feeling that CULT OF ERINYES will do nothing more than cast you into the abyss once it is through with their rites. I would have liked to know more about the band and the guests that join in on the chaos, but I get that they are keeping to the Black Metal ethos. Fortunately for them, it works. And yes, as always, BUY THIS ALBUM!!!