MEPHORASH is a Black Metal band formed in Sweden in 2010. This newest album is the band’s fifth full-length album, and it has seven songs. The title track is first. The song begins with a steady hum of vocals and the drum thuds, and tension hangs in the air. When that first blast of cold hits, it burns right through you, and the frightening elements of the song become illuminated. “Gnosis” is much longer, and opens with the sound of a crying baby, and clean, soothing guitars. Harsh vocals ease in, but the sound remains solemn. It isn’t until the half-way mark when things turn angrier. From there, it’s a nice balance between the two.

“Catoptrophilia” features haunting vocal chants combined with harsh vocals, and more of that heavy tension that was present in the first song. “Soma Yoni” opens up with a big bombast of depression and anger at the same time. Although it does spend some time in the shadows, when it steps into the light, it does so authoritatively. There are also some obvious lustful female moans. “Chrysallis” has a mellower sound complete with somber piano notes and vocal laments. But the anger comes roaring in once more. Again, the tension is very thick here and hangs in the air for what seems like days. “I Am” is another song that seems innocuous until you reach out and touch it, and it bites back. The alternating passages of hate and despair are very pronounced.

The lengthy “Mephoriam” closes the album, at nearly 17 minutes. As you can imagine, there is ample time for the band to slowly and deliberately develop the sound. It eases in for the first third of the song before the big sound hits you like a smack to the face. It alternates from totally despair to anger at times, but despair seems to win the battle. Overall, I found the album excellent. Emotion is something that you don’t often hear in Black Metal, we at least, developed emotion as I call it. That is one thing that the band does well. The second is how they use tension to hold the listener on the edge of their seat. I found this album to be both poignant and deadly.