The primordial darkness and chaos of Apep, the ancient Egyptian winged seprent, looms over us all. Or so proclaim the Stockholm-based EOSPHORUS throught their sophomore "Winds of Apep".

It's no secret that we're talking once again about a Satanic Black Metal meets Antique Occultism thing here. I'm afraid that that particular theme has been done to death so far, so I tend to be a little picky about it. So, what do we find here?

Running at 6 minutes over an hour "Winds of Apep" has everything any Black Metal fan longs for. Harsh screaming vocals with the mandatory whispers and prose when required. Killer guitars, being a perfect blend of Nordic Black Metal tradition and Swedish melody. Behemoth-heavy riffs? Check. Tremolo picking insanity? Check. Acoustic passages? Check. Amazing solos? Once again, check. Fantastic drums that fit like a glove, from blast beat the Black way, to driving heavy patterns. Bass that compliments the song structures as a frequency, but when needed, deviates from doubling up the guitars, expanding the soundscape even more. Intelligent and to the point songwriting that gives the required drive and diversity to the songs. Fairly good mixing and production that lets you concentrate on the music itself, instead of guessing what is actually going on.

Downsides? Well, I can't think of many. Maybe they need an even better, larger than life production. That, or a real orchestra. Oh, and a better cover job next time. But that just garnish. The music is just fuckin' fantastic.

What I like best with EOSPHORUS is that while on one hand they could be termed as classic - almost canon - Satanic Black Metal, there's plenty of influences here, from Melodic Death patterns, classic Heavy riffing and soloing, to Doom-tinged wide passages. However this is no style patchwork. Its all about Black Metal, with everything put in to complete the circle of destruction perfectly. A job well done!

Choice cuts: "Satan Redeemer", "Divina Potestate Satanae", "Winds of Apep", "Into Ashes", "Stand by my Side", "On the Circle Edge", "Woken".