Review by Jeger on March 21, 2025.

In the age olde spirit of "holy shit that sounds good", I now introduce you to USA's Wrath Of Logarius. They're one of those clever bands like Dissection that have imagined an entire genre of black metal based solely on the kind of BM that they themselves bring to the table. We all know about Anti-Cosmic Metal of Death, but in case you didn't get the memo, there's this new shit called Formless black metal - the butter, an ear ringer for sure with this stuff. How does a little brutal death metal-inspired black metal sound? Oh yeah, it's a thing. On April 4, Wrath Of Logarius will release Crown Of Mortis via Season of Mist.

A blackened version of Dying Fetus should about sum it up, but beyond that there's still much to uncover: eldritch melodies, haunting atmospherics and the fucking drummer… George Kollias eat your heart out. Such a commanding presence behind the kit, which is what you need when album cuts like "Keeper Of The Spectral Legion" and "Of The Void" are involved. Bringing heavy artillery to a knife fight is Wrath Of Logarius. It's such a concentrated dose of larger-than-life black metal that it cannot be confined to form. For every seconds worth of savagery, you'll also take in striking melodic passages and slow-burning parts that feel as if you've been placed on the rack; relentlessly dragging the depths; turning up the filth of human existence with every dooming riff.

Forget about Belphegor and Behemoth. Blackened death metal is devoid of integrity, unlike what we have here, which is a brilliant synergy of brutal death and black metal; resulting in music of a most dignified consort. Vilhelm of Grima makes a contribution to "The Ethereal Mist" - like Grima on steroids - swirling into this vortex of unbridled compositional madness. This is a really REALLY talented bunch here. Imagine Anaal Nathrakh, only more accessible and a whole lot more mature sounding.

The so-called art of blackened death metal is a maligned one. On the other hand, we have groundbreaking outfits like our boys here who are doing really innovative stuff by simply combining death and black metal in a way where each style of music stands independently, as opposed to some mutt-like mixture. And did I mention the drummer, Lord Marco? From which parallel universe did they pull this guy? There's suspense and savagery, soul and enchantment here; all backed by what sounds like a percussion robot…

What a fresh perspective on black metal. As I write this, numerous bands from all over the world are attempting to do what Wrath Of Logarius did here, only to fail epically as they effectively butcher black metal, all the while as they embarrass themselves in the process. And is that a little Into Eternity action I'm hearing right now? Keeping things interesting is Wrath Of Logarius throughout the entirety of the record. FFO black metal that's so epically fucking black metal that it's like beyond black metal but still black metal all the same… Just not so sure about those masks yet.

Rating: 9 out of 10