I can’t say that I’m familiar with Belarusian metal bands . . . at least not until recently when I became acquainted with BELLE MORTE, a Symphonic/Goth Metal project out of Minsk. BELLE MORTE formed a decade ago and have released one EP and two full-length albums. The second, Pearl Hunting, was issued on January 24, 2025 via WormHoleDeath. It’s eleven tracks of well-balanced Symph—sometimes haunting, sometimes visceral—which will make you feel classy, the way that Symph always does, and inherently evil, the way true metal should.

The band notes that Pearl Hunting draws influence from music across the globe, taking listeners “a journey across the globe, much like divers searching for pearls beneath the sea. Each verse represents a different culture or musical tradition.” They deliver this not just in theory but in practice by collaborating with artists from Belarus, Finland, Ukraine, Poland, Mongolia, Indonesia, Portugal, Germany, France, Peru, Japan, and Italy. They also don’t try to replicate Symphonic through synth facsimile but rather by integrating a shedload of traditional instruments from the Celtic bouzouki to the Ukrainian sopilka to the ever-reliable hurdy gurdy and even the Middle Eastern Oud. The instrument list reads like a menu from an international restaurant in a country no one can afford to travel to and in a language no one can understand.

Okay, so far some good potential . . . but does BELLE MORTE actually bring it all together in any interesting way? The answer is simply, hell yes. Standout tracks come aplenty on this album. I love the haunting “Pearl Hunt” which invokes a Red Sea, Middle Eastern vibe; “Exorcism” with its far-East inflections (note also the additional acoustic version);  “Wintersleep” which I’m guessing is Celtic—a total heartbreaker this one; “Losing Faith,” a straight-forward Symph rocker; “September,” a sinister sounding track about a regretful love; and “Jorōgumo” which comes across like a mad fusion of Nordic Black Metal and Japanese Noh theatre—and if that’s not frightening enough, it’s about a demonic Arachnid priestess who wants to eat your soul (my interpretation anyway).

Symphonic Metal is increasingly becoming a highly populated soundscape, especially with female-fronted bands, but BELLE MORTE neatly elbows their way on to the stage with commanding presence. All in all, Pearl Hunting is truly a global effort both musically and lyrically. BELLE MORTE taps into a wellspring of so much talent on this one album. Impressive outcome.