Just when I thought Black Metal gave me all it could offer, someone picks up a rusted hammer and chisels off another slab of pure evil for me to relish. This time around it is OFNUS who has restored my faith in the unholiest of Metals. OFNUS is a Melodic Black Metal band hailing from Cardiff, Wales. They formed in 2021 and released their debut full-length album, "Time Held Me Grey And Dying," via Naturmacht Productions.

"Time Held Me Grey And Dying" has all the markers of a Black Metal stalker destined to violate you. Choral chants from the mouths of spectral monks, bass drops that will annihilate your sub-woofers, tremolo melodies that will fracture the ley lines of your soul, and lead guitar phrasing plucked from the fevered dreams of Wagner. To be clear, this isn't FWBM or even SWBM. It's melodic and cinematic, but still crushing and evil. The promo material puts it aptly enough: "Black Metal with modern-classic film score, OFNUS have a singular goal in mind: to reunite you with your misery and take you on an indulgent and veritable trip through your neglected inner sanctum."

The album cover and even the title are clear landmarks indicating the spirit of the album. Inner turmoil roiling against the vagaries of time, existence, and the demise of both. Lyrically, the band falls in line with many Extreme Metal bands-long, inflated narratives and lamentations. Not a lot that is distinctive, but fluid and interesting enough. I mean, don't expect to have a cathartic realization about the essence of reality or the meaning of your last failed relationship, but the blokes are thoughtful and literate, and they can stick to a metaphor.

There are several things I really appreciate about OFNUS and this album. One is William Philpot's vocals. They are as unclean and blasphemous as you'd expect but with enough echo and distance to file edges off. So, haunting but not jarring. Maybe like your own inner voice-familiar enough not to shock but disquieting enough to unnerve you.

I also like the atmospheric and symphonic elements. Specifically, the chanting and subdued synth. "Monody," an instrumental interlude, is one of my favorite tracks. And then there are the production values. I already mentioned the bass drops, but there are also subtle builds and nice layering. These add depth and texture often missing in the greyscape of Black Metal. Finally, a dual guitar assault is always valued.

Best tracks. Do I really have to do this? I liked them all. Really. But if you insist . . . The lead guitar work on "Fading Dreams" kicked my ass; the atmospheric "Monody" made we want to watch foreign horror movies in black and white with the sound off; and "A Thousand Lifetimes" was like the soundtrack to the album, describing in exquisite detail the mood swings, epic cascades, and troubling resolutions.

I needed OFNUS this week. Not to say they don't have staying power. That was just an expression, don't be so literal. This is great stuff. This is what keeps my coming back to Black Metal when I thought I had grown out of it. Besides, how do you outgrow a grave?