In the beginning, Pagan Black Metal wasn't anything more than playing Black Metal (in the Second wave form) with pagan lyrics. But time passed by, things evolved and the genre has a personal form today. But there are those bands that try to play in an old form (something between the roots of the genre and the actual approach). And from Armenian, the Sasquatch called ILDARUNI comes with "Beyond Unseen Gateways", the band's first album.

Although they're playing a in a format that isn't the original ways from Pagan Black Metal (because they use some Folk/Pagan instruments as wind instruments and Bagpipes, a courtesy of the guest musician Arthur Atayan), they're not playing in a modern trend as well. It's a hybrid from the past with the present, with but it's different and sounds really good, aggressive and pagan at the same time. They unleash a great energy on their songs, tempered with charming and atmospheric keyboards parts, along with very good guitars, bass and drums parts and nasty vocals (using a different set of tunes that isn't the familiar shrieks). It's something different, indeed.

The production was done in a way that, as the band's music, creates a link between the past and the present's sonorities. The works of Armen Shaverdian (on the sound engineering and recordings) and George Emmanuel (former ROTTING CHRIST guitarist, mastermind of LUCIFER'S CHILD, and renowned producer, worked on the mixing and mastering), creating a sonority that can be rough and filthy (due the simple instrumental tunes), but in a way that anyone can understand what's being done by the quintet. For a first album, it's a very result, indeed.

Their potential is amazing, and on songs as "Treading the Path of Cryptic Wisdom" (very good contrasts between crude Black Metal parts with charming Pagan Metal touches, and amazing vocals and guitars), "Perpetual Vigil" (an intense and grasping energy comes from its nasty melodies, and a solid work on bass guitar and drums can be heard), "Boundless Numen: Gardens of Ardini" (this one is nearer of Old School Pagan Black Metal, with aggressiveness flowing free from the speakers, supported by very good riffs), "Exalted Birth" (what amazing bitter pagan melodies), and "Whence Ravenstone Beckons" forms the vital spine of the album (but all the songs are really great).

ILDARUNI is a very good name, and deserves applause for making "Beyond Unseen Gateways" such a good album. But the listeners can expect great things from the quintet in the future.