AETHYRICK is a Finnish Black Metal band formed on the winter solstice of 2016 by two individuals known only as Gall and Exile. What I learned of these two enigmatic lads after my exhaustive six minute online search pretty much filled up the last sentence and this sad confession is just a ploy to chew up word count. On January 24, 2020 they released their second full-length album, "Gnosis." When referencing their music, the band speaks more of magick than music, though who am I to say these are two different things. Regardless of how they want to position themselves, "Gnosis" succeeds in inducing a dark reverie which will be familiar to Black Metal enthusiasts.

For some context here, the word "Aetheryic" is a variant of "etheric." Technically, it's a theosophical term referring to the first or lowest layer of the aura. This layer is in primary contact with the physical body but also maintains the essential interface with higher bodies. (Another six minutes of quality internet research.)

There are seven tracks on this album, with each song spanning from four to seven minutes. Stylistically, hey, it's a Black Metal band - harmonic tremolo guitars; raspy, harsh vocals; subsurface synthesizers; muted blast beats; cymbals that sound like a cracked cowbell; and production values right at five on a scale of 11. Lyrically, who the hell knows, but chances are it's not about the summer of love.

My favorite track on the album is "Your Mysteries" with its eerie but poignant melody and a killer sequence of isolated tremolo riffs right at the four minute mark that will make your soul ache. The drum work on "Oneiric Portals" makes it another standout track. "Oneiric," btw, is a Greek based word meaning dreams. I also favored the opening track, "Will Embodied" as it aptly sets the stage for everything else that follows, and the final track, "Golden Suffering," which offers the most compositional variety of the batch, including a short acoustic interlude.

All together, "Gnosis" is a solid rendering of mystic dark metal. While it doesn't denote a huge departure from other excellent metal on the scene right now, it does represent a compelling output of sonic bleakness that will beckon you to the comforting dark.