By The Way Of Light is a truly impressive new album from the long running Ukrainian one man atmospheric black metal project Severoth. This is a record that taps into manyt of the classic elements that made Severoth such a compelling artist in the first place. Not only does the record really lean into the grandiose compositions and larger than life performances of the bands past, but it feels like they have taken a massive step up here. Through it all, Severoth manages to maintain a certain stripped back magic making for extra compelling listening.
There is something wonderfully poetic about what's being done with By The Way Of Light. It is after all a record that is being made from the midst of a war torn country, and it's impossible to look past how this reverberates around the songwriting process. What's striking then is the beauty of some of these compositions, especially in contrast to the darker moments on the album. Severoth uses synths to paint wide open sonic landscapes, and then drills your skull in with some truly terrifying and wonderfully impressive moments of black metal intensity. These contrasts have always been a part of atmospheric black metal, but they feel all the more poignant on By The Way Of Light.
Eerie, powerful and strangely beautiful, Severoth consistently find ways to emerge from the shroud of darkness and thrill listeners with new blasts of sonic fury. It's hard not to be enamored with what's being done here and the vision of the songwriting. Severoth may have needed 4 long years between releases to get this done, but it is some of their best work to date, undeniable and exciting. Letting yourself get immersed in these layers of chaos, beauty and Eastern European black metal magic is certain to leave listeners in awe.
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