If you aren’t aware, the genre boundaries for Black Metal are very wide these days. Each song on “Melena” feels like a journey into the unknown, unpredictable and unnerving, yet always purposeful. Dissonant chords stab through moments of haunting calm, blast beats erupt like storms, and subtle progressive flourishes twist the path further, ensuring the listener never feels safe. It’s rare to hear a Black Metal album this frightening that also demonstrates such compositional control. The band proves they are not just conjurers of atmosphere, but master songwriters who can bend structure and complexity to their will without sacrificing raw intensity.
