From Bandcamp, “Horror Pain Gore Death Productions welcome EMBERS OF OUROBOROS to the roster with the new album "The Autumnal Decline and Hermetic Maturation.” Hailing from the catacombs of Northern Maryland, the band was founded in 2023 and perform grim, atmospheric melancholic Black Metal. "The Autumnal Decline and Hermetic Maturation" is an effort to hold a mirror to the twisted faces of fallacy, cognitive dissonance and pathological nihilism, blending first wave and second wave Black Metal.”

The album has nine songs, and “Innate and Gnarled” is first. Out of the gate, the production is very muted, and the sound is thick with reverb, guitars, and drums. The vocals carry on the tradition of the FWOBM. “A Comforting Darkness” hears a similar sound continue. Even though the production is pretty bad, I believe it is done purposefully to fit the music. However, it creates a muddy section in the middle that doesn’t allow the band to explore the poles very well. “Systematic Metamorphosis” has a similar sound, and through four songs, the band charges forward with their pedal on the metal and just presses down the gas, not looking back.

“As Silence Casts out its Eternal Divide” has nearly the same sound, and this is my number one complaint on an album, where there is little diversity from song to song. “Our Crypts of Blackened Ice and Hermetic Spirits” finally breaks the cycle, somewhat. Clean tones lead the initial change, and the thickness that follows is somber, and even hopeless. I get images of a graveyard on a cold, dark winter. “Horrific Descent into the Endless Trenches Beyond Light” is more of the same. As I mentioned before, it’s the same as a race car driver hitting a flat stretch of road and just pressing down the gas. Sure, it’s intense, but that is really about all that is going for it.

“Dying Too Slowly” begins with a lower and somewhat slower sound, really allowing the imagery of a cold, dark dungeon to sink into your brain. The variation that this song brings is nice, it has more harrowing elements. “The Incarnation of Hypocrisy” it the final cut, and it also brings a little variation with it. The sounds turns from rage to isolation, and your death comes slowly, and all by yourself. Overall, the album was decent, but nothing special. The production was pretty bad in terms of the level of muting that was done, and it didn’t really present anything new to the growing genre of Black Metal.