MEISTER LEONHARDT is a black metal band from Russia; I don’t have an exact date of their formation but they released their debut in 2021. After a few years, they have now dropped their second album, “Thanatopoeia.” From my understanding, ‘Thanatopoeia’ is the fear of death. I’d say that is a pretty damn accurate title for this album. Unnerving, creepy, scary, and outright profane are just some of the adjectives I could use to describe the feel and atmosphere of this album. “Thanatopoeia,” is definitely an abrasive and deeply uncomfortable album.

But it’s also smartly written and surprisingly catchy in places. There are many great elements that make the album up but one of my favorites is the bass: it absolutely slaps, pops, and explodes throughout. Despite the raw-ish production, it can be heard very well. The guitar tone is evil as hell; even the clean tones and melodic moments have that evil, profane grit to them. A prime example is the opening track “Bliss Of Impermanence,” and it’s clean tones. They are downright scary, nothing about them is anything but. The riffs that come afterwards are pure fire too. The vocals are exactly what I want for this style of black metal: pure throaty, archaic screams.

The drumming on the song, and the album as a whole, is absolutely fantastic. It’s a powerhouse unto itself but the way they compliment and dance around the songs really helps the ears catch all the other instruments. The melody I spoke of earlier opens in “Malevolence Supreme,”dim and crooked, offering zero respite but helping set up the rest of the gnarly horror that awaits in the song. This particular track is just groovy enough without killing the atmosphere. The groove turns into hellish speed around the 2:45 mark but the bass keeps up wonderfully.

And how about the opening screams on “Fulcrum,” just before the entire band dives head first into the blackened sea? Absolutely fantastic. I’m not sure if it’s guitar or something else, but an instrument making some kind of weird melody throughout the song–ghostly and anxiety inducing. Listen to this song on headphones and you’ll definitely be paranoid that something is going to kill you. The final song “Taphotaxis,” is one the most straightforward songs on the album but isn’t any less soul sucking. It sort of reminds me of a much more raw and bleak version of SATYRICON. The last couple minutes are fantastic, what with the cacophony of drums and subtle atmospheric touches

The band’s form of black metal is pretty aggressive and bleak but they still throw in atmospheric and melodic curveballs. It’s a great listen from start to finish and is one of the better black metal albums I’ve heard lately. If dark, hopeless music is your thing (and if it isn’t, you need to take care of that) then I highly recommended MEISTER LEONHARDT’s “Thanatopoeia.”