Review by Vladimir on June 17, 2023.

A lonely warrior, bearing the weight of his spear, rode on a stallion through cold and desolate wastelands, while slowly approaching the mysterious fortress which lies on the doorstep of a frozen mountain. Such a strong presentation from the very get-go is pretty ensuring that you’re about to embark on an interesting journey. The topic of this review is the Italian folk/atmospheric black metal band Blaze Of Sorrow and their seventh full-length album Vultus Fati, released on March 31st via the label Eisenwald. If you’re willing to find out what you will be facing on this journey, stay awhile and listen… 

Blaze Of Sorrow’s songwriting on Vultus Fati possesses traits of traditional black metal with harsh singing vocals, but on top of that, there is also a sprinkle of epic, folk and atmospheric elements added to the formula. Songs quite often consist of tremolo picking, but there are also very epic moments of mid-tempo riffing and melodies on 'Eretica', while the drumming is for the most part blast-beats or double-bass drumming, with occasional mid-tempo drumming in there as well. Even though acoustic guitar sections on most songs serve as interludes, they play a lead role on instrumental tracks 'Waldgänger' and 'Aura', but is also backed up by beautiful ambient noises of owl hooting on 'Waldgänger'. Speaking of other folk elements on this album, beside acoustic guitar sections there is also a fine addition of soothing viola playing by Eva Impellizzeri, which you’ll come across in 'Flammae', 'Nel Vento', 'Waldgänger', 'Aion' and 'Aura'. The musical work on this album is overall pretty straightforward but on point and very epic at times, incorporating a lot of elements that differ from what you’ve heard on one of the previous tracks. Apart from what the music achieves in terms of technicality, it also has its own magic where the atmosphere successfully encourages the listener to imagine a fictional scenario in his head when fully immersed in the music. I swear, if you played Elder Scrolls Oblivion or Skyrim with this music on, it would really go well with the kind of vibe it radiates. Another big plus I have to give this album, which also fits its general atmosphere, is the inclusion of the cover art done by Adam Burke (aka Nightjar Illustration), whose work I’ve been following actively on social media and been a big fan for quite some time. For real, everything that Adam Burke ever painted, he just captures the moment on canvas like no one else. Production-wise, everything sounds very clean and pristine for a black metal album, but nevertheless it works so well with the music. 

The album Vultus Fati is a pretty enjoyable and epic experience from start to finish, but most importantly, it clearly tells you that this is a work made by passionate and dedicated musicians who put their hearts in the right place. I might be 2-3 months late, but I am definitely glad to have come across this album and it will definitely be a worthy inclusion among best releases of 2023, because I personally consider this as pure “album of the year” material. If you never heard of Blaze Of Sorrow, now is a good chance to check out their new album Vultus Fati. 

Rating: 8.8 out of 10

Review by Yener on June 14, 2019.

After being quite stunned by the amount of negative, and quite ignorant - reviews for this album, I felt it was time to bring some perspective to this great and important album.

Seriously, there are reviews written by kids who were 6 years old when this album was released and given a whopping 0% score. Give me a fucking break.

Back when this album was first released, metal was in a quite dismal, beaten up state. Not many bands were around carrying the torch, but the few that where are undeniably important. Pantera, Sepultura, Slayer - all of these bands helped push metal through the 90's, without it rotting in the gutters.

For some reason, Pantera always get slammed for being a "fake" thrash band. Uh, I don't ever remember them saying that they were a thrash band to begin with. They are what they are and comparing them to classic thrash bands is pointless and retarded. Anyone expecting a "Beneath the Remains" from these guys is even more retarded. The ones who constantly say that they just ripped off Exhorder are even dumber.

After the legendary Vulgar Display of Power, I firmly believe that Pantera did a great job of following up that record. Here, the songs are a bit slower and much, much heavier, with the trademark Pantera sound. Dimebag's playing on it is relentless throughout, well planned, and well executed, with shit loads of devastating riffs. 

Sure, you have the classics that everyone knows - "Becoming", "5 Minutes Alone", "I'm Broken", etc, but this album offers a whole lot more. It's not just 3 good songs, with just mindless shit for the rest. Take "Slaughtered", a complete mammoth of a song - huge, deep riffs heavy enough to rattle your eyes out of their sockets. "Shedding Skin" also features some downright excellent guitar work, and throughout the whole album the band performs great.

No one ever even talks about "Throes of Rejection"… I just don't get it. A complete fucking kick to the head, yet it gets no praise whatsoever. When the massive riff kicks in at 0:58, you better be ducking for cover. Just totally awesome, raw, pure aggression. 

Their cover of Sabbath's "Planet Caravan" is also a nice touch, and a fine way to end the album.

Most of the reviews I read are those dumb, metal elitist types who still think Gorgoroth writes good music. It doesn't make sense to review an album if you weren't even fucking born when it was released, so please fuck off and do something productive with your time, because those reviews aren't clever or cute, and actually quite misleading for those genuinely interested in picking up the album.

Pantera were playing sold out venues during the 90's, being quite busy with kicking everyone’s faces in, while most black metal bands were still releasing albums which sounded like they were recorded in a giant tank of horse shit. No thanks, I'll take Pantera any day of the week.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10