Review by Nekrist on June 28, 2025.

Extreme metal is full of variety, fusions, and very interesting subgenres, yet many extreme music enthusiasts insist on trying to create what I call "micro-subgenres." While these may seem like completely unnecessary and inconsequential terms in many cases, in others, they can help give us a much clearer idea of ​​what the music we're about to immerse ourselves in will sound like.

Many of us are familiar with terms such as "war metal", a perfect example of what I explained earlier, a "micro-subgenre" that attempts to explain the chaotic sound of such bands. Although it's essentially simply a brutal fusion of various extreme metal styles, it's still a "useful" label to better define said musical style. Another label I've come across with numerous times is the term "cosmic black metal". A name that can be evocative for some and ridiculous to others, however, there are bands that manage to perfectly capture and convey what this term is trying to set forth. There are many examples of bands with a "cosmic" or "space-like" sound, a few names I can get from the top of my head are Blut aus Nord, Almyrkvi, Cosmic Church, and Darkspace. However, today we're here to talk about a rarely mentioned band that possesses all the necessary ingredients to be an elite "cosmic black metal" band.

From the Czech Republic, Inferno delivered their latest full-length in 2021, entitled "Paradeigma (Phosphenes of Aphotic Eternity)," an enigmatic and powerful record that explores the most remote corners of the internal and external universe, the microcosm and the macrocosm. Displaying a modern black metal full of nuances and masterful songwriting that captivates from second one. This extraordinary work consists of just five songs (plus a brief instrumental intro), totaling 35:48 minutes, a perfectly timed and coldly calculated runtime.

Just after the intro "Decaying Virtualities Yearn for Asymptopia" ends, the instrumental onslaught immediately begins, suffocating and overwhelming with each note. The riffs are hypnotic, immersive, and creeping, guiding the rest of the instruments with sinister melodies that evoke a sense of dread and mystery. The drums are simply brilliant, delivering a masterclass of elegance and precision that lends impressive compositional stability to the overall cacophony of sound we are in front of. While the guitars and drums weave their dark threads, the vocals seem like distant aeonian shrieks, almost like simple stormy echoes that timidly emerge from the mix. One point that pleasantly caught my attention was precisely that the vocals were used as another layer within this "wall of sound."

However, what truly gave this album its master touch was, without a doubt, the sublime, precise, and minimalistic use of synthesizers, polishing the already abrasive and enveloping atmosphere of Inferno. Everything is so cohesive, so well crafted and put together that it's impossible not to listen to the album again and again non-stop, almost involuntarily. It's one of those records that must be listened to several times to fully grasp all its sonic nuances and colors, a true delight for anyone who considers themselves a fan of extreme music, an absolute ten and highly recommended.

Rating: 10 out of 10