Review by Felix on January 8, 2023.

Amystery is one of those names that I never noticed up to now. Moreover and somehow tragic, it is also one of those names I should have noticed before. This does not mean that the Bavarians provide unique sounds of enormous innovate force. To leave no doubts: this is absolutely not the case here. But they play sinister, generic black metal and they do it competently. This is reason enough to give them the attention they deserve.

“All Hail the Cult” is a charming combination of opulent song patterns (only seven tracks, but 50 minutes) and cold darkness. In other words: the songs never get boring, even though or exactly because they do not poach in foreign territories. They just combine the usual number of breaks and tempo shifts with more or less typical guitar lines and somehow stupid but also merciless drumming. Moreover, they have a good flow; the single parts melt seamlessly with each other. Maybe a few parts could have been shortened (unfortunately precisely the beginning of the opener), but that’s no crucial thing here. I feel the spirit of the subgenre as soon as the album has begun and that’s important for me. Music, even our favourite style, is about emotions and Amystery satisfies my needs in this respect.

The mix has a nice underground flair. It does not lack professional attitude, but it also refers to the works of the genre kings that once ruled the world from Norway. “All Hail the Cult” could be an early recording of Enslaved, for example. Maybe the drums are slightly too present and the (solid) voice does not shine with a mega-portion of hateful misanthropy, but these shortcoming can easily be ignored. Speaking of ignorance, do not expect an in-depth analysis of individual songs. Amystery have defined their style and they do not leave the path of mid-harsh black metal, even if this one is already quite worn out. This results in a pretty monolithic output without significant ups and downs, but with a lot of quality from the beginning to the end. I do not feel this sparkling I-have-never-heard-a-better-riff-moment I sometimes enjoy when listening a brand new album. But on the one hand, time always tells me that I was wrong, mostly within three days or less. And on the other hand, it’s just good, resilient and robust black metal that the band offers.

Will Amystery ever record a fourth full-length? Will the promo sheet tell us that the band was one of the best kept secrets of the Teutonic undergound during its first active period? Will the lies never end? I don’t know. However, “All Hail the Cult” with its monumental closer “Infernal Kingdom Rise” is worth discovering, in particular for those who do not like experimental, suicidal, symphonic or Christian black metal (surely the next big thing…).

Rating: 7.7 out of 10