Review by Jeger on January 30, 2026.

It's in the lament of years wasted and lost unto transgression - the bitter pain you know all too well. It's in suffering so profound that to know it is to know the sting of a thousand broken hearts. It's in these moments where one loses his self, only to find the monster in the pine; the one that's been lurking just beyond the clearing in the shadows of your psyche. Waiting for one more loss one more disappointment or just one more rejection, so that it can manifest through you; changing you into someone meaner, more cynical, dangerous even. This is the place where hope is replaced with loathing and where misanthropy is born…

Hauntologist is a Polish Atmospheric/Misanthropic Black Metal project that features one current and one former member of Mgła: Darkside (percussion) and The Fall (vox, guitars, bass, keyboards). So far, since 2013, they've released one LP, 2024's "Hollow" via No Solace. What a proud pedigree and what a fine label. The end is nigh! But not for you, not for us, for dawn's release is but a flicker in this cold dark expanse. And there is no hope for a better tomorrow, only fate's jagged pill to swallow. Get ready for concentrated agony…

The first track on "Hollow" just so happens to be the best. "Ozymandian" foreshadows the gloom to come with hypnotic melodies, intrepid blasts and various other panic-inducing atmospheric effects. The following track, "Golem", drags a bit slower, hurts a little more and again with the dreamlike clean guitar parts. "Hauntologist " hits all the same sweet spots as Mgła here but with added emphasis on atmosphere. I can only compare it to something like Advent Sorrow's "As All Light Leaves Her". "Waves of Concrete" serves as a brief interlude where some kind of transcript is being read? A news feed clip? I can't help but be reminded of Quebec, Canada's Forteresse and their brilliant "Thèmes Pour La Rèbellion" LP as it features similar spoken-word pairings and atmospheric elements.

The title-track to "Hollow" is about the most misery-drenched thing I've heard in a long time. Primitive beats and chant-like vocalizations create a dark mystifying yet utterly hopeless experience. Experimentation is key here and it pays dividends for sure. This Coffee House Beatnik sort of tinkering around the abstract; venturing into the realm of true artistry. Darkside does his thing… And that is to astonish but also to convey his own very dark energy into the sound. He displays adeptness that supersedes that of most Black Metal Percussionists and this natural ability to create a particular mood with his playing. It's a skill that cannot be taught, most Percussionists do not possess it and it's stark throughout "Hollow", particularly during the psychedelic "Gardermoen". Nachtmystium vibes and sheer horror hypnosis.

Just like Mgła in how Hauntologist so quietly and so nonchalantly create such magnificent Black Metal. Music for tortured sleepless nights and fetal position sobbing. For the realization that it's actually not going to be all okay someday and maybe for the peace that comes with that realization. However "Hollow" hits you, you can rest assured that it will be on a profound level. You'll yearn to make it through, as does a depressed person yearn for the release. And when it comes, just after Kar Kruków plays, there will come that blessed feeling of satisfaction and excitement for discovering such a brilliantly executed album and such a triumphantly talented duo of Artists. Suffer now, thank me later…

Rating: 10 out of 10