With the band abruptly announcing their sudden split in late April 2025, ETERNAL DARKNESS thirty-five-freakin'-years-in-the-making insanely awaited debut album will prove to be their last. But instead of a solemn and, shall we say, doomed (on all levels) epitaph, this album see's  ETERNAL DARKNESS' three decades old reputation as one of Scandinavia's most crushing creation still ringing true to this day. Formed back in 1990 in Eskilstuna, Sweden by Toni Pietilä (lead guitar), Make Pesonen (drums), Janne Heikkinen (vocals), Jarmo Kuurola (rhythm guitar) and Tero Viljanen (bass guitar), the band recorded two demo tapes one seven inch, played a handful of gigs both in Sweden and Finland before crawling back in obscurity in 1993, leaving on the shelf an unreleased at the time MLP. Ridden by tragedy – Jarmo was murdered in 1995 and Toni passed in 2014, aged 39 – the band had to wait 2019 and a whole new line-up, completed by new members John Carlsson on lead guitar (ETERNAL AUTUMN), Kristian Henriksson on rhythm guitar (UNPURE, SVARTSYN) and Jeff Hausel on bass to come back from the dead.

Besides one old song from 1992 rerecorded for a special upcoming split vinyl with their label mates and fellow countrymen MOONDARK, all eight songs are brand-new. They were recorded and produced in November/December 2024 by their longtime friend Peter Bjärgö, a childhood friend of both Make and Janne and a friend of Jeff since 1986, whose own death metal band CRYPT OF KERBEROS did their best to match ETERNAL DARKNESS intensity and heaviness back in the 90s! The whole process happened at Bjärgö newly rebuilt Erebus Odora, basically ETERNAL DARKNESS old rehearsal place for years now converted into a studio.

"It feels great that the album - against all odds! -  is recorded and done" agrees Jeff. "We first came up with 'What Life End's' in the winter of 2022 and the rest kinda followed. Make is a natural art director and our band-leader, full of macabre ideas. Peter put yet another layer to the songs by adding some brilliant samples and we even invited Jasmine, a seven years old metal maniac to play the flute of Doom." With all its instruments tuned down to A for extra heaviness and as foreseeing the future, "ETERNAL DARKNESS " is about the process of death, loss and grief. It is not only obviously dedicated to Jarmo and Toni but also to Peter's daughter Vendela who sadly passed away during the recording, Jeff agreeing that "those tragic events not only had a profound impact on us but also affected the sound and ambient of the album." Hence why the band aptly chose the famous 14th century Italian tapestry Triumph Of Death for the cover, with the lyrics being written by a longtime close ally and former Eskilstuna resident Sami Salonen.

Make no mistake: "ETERNAL DARKNESS" ain't no 'pretty' death/doom. Devoid of fancy artifice, insanely bleak and yet to the point and, yes, catchy, this is the ultimate album this Eskilstuna mob was meant to spit at this rotten world's face since 1990. It may be their last move but talk about leaving with a bang. So, kicking off this death/doom sludgefest we have the opening track The Beyond (4:13) slow, menacing, sets the tone with suffocating guitar riffs & cavernous heaviness. Reminds me of the band WINTER from back in the day. Pungent Awakening (5:19) Funeral-march style riffs, double kicks for days & mid-tempo based. The atmosphere is dense, emotional; vocals more aggressive in places, bringing out the tragedy infused into the lyrics. The Instrumental track of the album Funeral (2:54) Now right off the bat I hear elements of the mighty ENTOMBED banger "Left Hand Path" which is not a bad thing. Love it. Grief (4.55) heavy doom paced oriented tempo here. Sense of doom, gloom & despair. A recipe for a doom masterpiece. Into Crematory (4:14) another song to make you feel bleak. Slow, chugging riffs at a trudging pace. The sense of tragedy & hopelessness. When Life Ends (4:08) takes you on a roller coaster full of emotions and gives space for vocals to express grief, with bass and drums resonating. More doom and gloom with this little gem titled Death Above All heavy bass & slow guttural growls, what more could one ask for. Final track Til Death (6:39) finishes off this slab of heaviness perfectly. This by far is the longest track on the album an epic send-off, creating that doom/death atmosphere with a melodic interlude. Once again those WINTER vibes are on the menu.

Verdict: This was 30+ years in the making (better late then never they say) I really enjoyed this and reminding me of the previous band I mentioned and DISEMBOWELMENT from Australia which was my jam back in the day. Only downside I can say was it felt like the song where rolling into to one, lot of chugging riffs that sounded all the same and originality may be lacking but they have cemented their place in the doom/death genre and they have proudly flown the flag with this album. Well played lads.