Review by Jeger on January 9, 2026.

From the order of Enlil to the wisdom of Enki and the immortality-seeking adventures of Gilgamesh, Sumerian mythology is a wellspring of influential material for which one could use to create any sort of Artistic product, from poetry to painting and of course music. Black Metal Artists have been digging into the history of Ancient Sumer and have been translating it into their recordings for decades. In homage to the Great Olde Ones and in testament to their lasting power have these records been created, and bands like Germany's Sumerian Tombs have dedicated the whole of their art to the mythical realm of Sumer and various other forms of Ancient mysticism. In April of last year, Sumerian Tombs released their latest LP, "Age Of Eternal Night" via Ván Records.

Epic… As epic as being warped through a portal into Ancient Times when giant elephants with fancy garbs, girls dancing and swaying to creepy flute music and people eating giant grapes were everywhere. And the Gods watched… Watching now even as we embark upon this quest for spiritual enlightenment, and so "The Gates Of Ganzir Open" - the intro to the record - unfolding with agonizing suspense before Melechesh-like riffs begin to chug and pulsate as the rhythm kicks in, and it's into a tempest of epic Black Metal that we're swept into while the beginning moments to this just-over-an-hour's worth of BM journey take hold. So far, so good. The following track, "Edimmu Rising", is an ode to the vengeful spirit of the Mesopotamian Edimmu - the ghosts of improperly buried humans. And the bass hits with timpani-like resonance, the guitars riff away with all of the urgency of a hundred summonings and primal vocalizations call forth great evils forlorn.

With "Age Of Eternal Night", Sumerian Tombs explore a myriad of Eastern concepts and lore, mythology and legend. And the soundtrack is as grandiose as one could imagine. Sitars and dramatic female backing vocals conjure up imagery of Ancient humanity in action: elaborate City Halls, bustling markets and everywhere wooden and stone homages to the Gods. This is about as visual of a recording as you could imagine. I can't help but be reminded of the dramatic/theatrical Greek style of BM and bands like Kawir and The Magus. With every shift in tempo comes a shift in mood and effect. "Epitaph In Blood" features aquatic-like effects, bold Pagan chants and violent rhythms. Passion incarnate here in this place where Black Metal and the Ancient world converge.

Over an hour's worth of music is too much for any album these days, but Sumerian Tombs manage to pull it off somehow. And the execution of said feat is accomplished through gripping cinematic sequences and unpredictable compositions, massive bass lines and enchanting melodies. "The Seal - Blood Meditation" feels like the catalyst to a great end, a reckoning on the spiritual front or a dark epiphany. Panzerfaust-level, machine-like heaviness in riff/rhythm give way to lighter melodic passages; exotic compositions that arouse and tantalize the senses. An atmosphere of sheer terror to send your heart racing into an infarction. The closing titular track is a welcomed straightforward BM album cut in comparison to what has preceded it. Blast-beats drive forward conventional riffing patterns and a bit lighter is the atmosphere. Still imposing but not as overpowering.

A great puzzle to piece together - a multifaceted Black Metal tapestry of epic compositional savvy. Thrills of the likes in which you've likely never encountered before. All right here. Clear your schedule! Smoke a blunt and prepare to venture back through the annals of mythological history into places long denounced or forgotten. And with influences ranging from Summoning to Bethlehem, you'll surely appreciate this album's range along with the band's boldness to transcend. And don't forget to check out the album's three bonus cuts: "The Dawn", "The Offering" and "Savage Dream Of Wrath And Blood". To the Gods! To Heroes and to the wretched evils of the Underworld. To Black Metal! And to adventures therein. Nicely done.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Review by Dominik on August 24, 2025.

Black metal for many bands is usually about frostbitten forests, Satan, or dying alone in a cave while your cassette recorder eats the tape. Then there are bands which decide on a clear, sometimes ancient theme—ideally something cloaked in mystery—and build their whole artistic world around it. Sumerian Tombs has done exactly that. They chose one of humanity's oldest civilizations as their playground: the Sumerians of Mesopotamia (today's south-central Iraq). They were supposedly among the first people developing a functional writing system, early forms of law codes or the foundation for today's current system of timekeeping, and, according to folklore, gave us enough vengeful spirits to make the afterlife look like a particularly messy divorce. Unsurprisingly, that's Sumerian Tombs' source for inspiration, as the opener "Edimmu Rising" makes abundantly clear.

The more pressing question, though, is how this new effort compares to their debut, which was an excellent slab of second-wave black metal with just enough own personality to stand out. I went into "Age Of Eternal Night" with high hopes, and after months of listening, I'd say the band hasn't fallen, but they've definitely stumbled. The debut had that near perfect mix of aggression, well dosed restraint and surprise. This one sometimes feels like they're testing how far they can stretch black metal's notoriously tight boundaries before it snaps. It's not "progressive" in the sense of adding saxophones or frog choruses, but it's still a demanding listen—occasionally brilliant, and sometimes frustrating. One could label the release as a case study in over-ambition: the kind of sophomore album where the band stares into the abyss, and the abyss politely tells them they're overcomplicating things. The sometimes much needed self-control has packed its bags and fled to Babylon.

To be fair, there's plenty here that works. The visual aesthetic and lyrical framework are spot-on. The atmosphere, or the occasional nod to Middle Eastern melodies—they all help to translate the ancient theme into music. "Cuutha – Necropolis" is a prime example, with guitar lines that shimmer with an oriental touch. It's well-executed, even if it's not particularly new (Melechesh have been at it like since forever).

Musically, the album starts strong. After another ritualistic intro, "Edimmu Rising" carries over some of the debut's energy, with plenty of blasts alternating with hard hitting mid-tempo and the occasional five seconds reprieve to catch your breath. However, two things quickly become obvious. First, much more emphasis is put on creating a suitable atmosphere: the production is thick, claustrophobic, and makes you feel like you're sitting in a damp tomb with the band rehearsing in the next crypt. Second, speed has been traded more often than not for mid-tempo weight, at times even a suffocating crawl. When the balance works, as it does in the first two tracks, the effect is crushing, and the dynamics work in favor of the songs.

But then we hit specimen like "Epitaph In Blood", which should have been a triumph. Which isn't a bad song. Which flirts with greatness. Which taunts you like a sadistic safari guide: every time you think you've found the lions you're told to wait for a better spot. At the 2:15 and 4:30 marks, the band unleashes brilliant riffs that gallop like a haunted herd of antelopes, and for a glorious moment you believe that now the lions are here to stay. But by the end, they simply have wandered off, and you're left with mosquito bites and regret. A song that could have been legendary is instead an exercise in "what could have been, if…." and you're left muttering about wasted potential. The added vocal variety is welcome, but it can't mask the feeling of missed opportunities.

For newcomers into Sumerian Tombs' musical universe, the title track is perhaps the best entry point. It feels most in line with the debut and works as a perfect bridge between the two albums. It is direct, immediate, engaging, and showing just enough restraint to give you room to breathe. It would have been the near perfect ending—dramatic, satisfying and redeeming things a bit. But no. That's just the end of disc one.

Disc two brings "bonus tracks", though the definition of "bonus" here seems more like "stuff we weren't sure where else to put". Three of the four are ambient or acoustic experiments: a complete absence of tremolo riffs, some clean vocals or eerie chants, ominous piano notes creeping in like mold through basement walls. Interesting in small doses, but if I wanted background noise for staring at the ceiling, I'd leave my fridge door ajar. I know, I can be an old-fashioned, narrow-minded s.o.b., but my patience for overly generous interpretations of what still counts as the genre's core trademarks has been worn paper-thin over the decades. At least the closer of disc 2 remembers it is located on a black metal album. With the help of Kerem Yilmaz, vocalist of the German outfit Imha Tarikat, the band injects some welcome variety. The track again is more accessible, featuring a sharp vocal duel during the mid-song blast, and slowdowns that feel deliberate and organic, rather than "dictated" by some soulless algorithm.

So where does that leave "Age Of Eternal Night"? In the end, the album is a mixed bag. It's not a bad album—far from it—but it doesn't live up to the high bar set by the debut. There are moments of brilliance, but also stretches that feel like the band drowned in their own pool of ideas. With luck, album number three will marry the spontaneity of the first with the ambition of the second. Sumerian Tombs clearly has the talent; they just tried to cram an entire civilization's worth of ideas into this one album.

Raring 7.8 out of 100, because I must penalize for the filler, masquerading as a second disc, for turning potentially great songs into missed opportunities, for reminding me that patience is a finite resource, and because disappointment always stings more when you actually believed in the band.

Review by Michael on August 18, 2025.

Aaahhhrgghh!!! The first hellish scream shakes your bones and the following tremolo-picking is simply blowing you away. What German Sumerian Tombs have created on their sophomore album "Age Of Eternal Night" is a great step further than what they did on their self-titled debut from 2022. Not unsimilar to bands like Melechesh or Anzv (who also released a very good album lately) the guys create some Middle Eastern atmosphere with the melodies and also with the lyrical content.

Basically dealing with vampirism and Sumerian mysteries they tell some really nice horror stories about a pilgrim searching for occult wisdom and vampiric arcane knowledge and this is a continuation of the story from the debut. This of course matches perfectly to the band name and, unlike what Cradle Of Filth do quite often, this image isn't exaggerated or some kind of slapstick. I had the pleasure of seeing them live a while ago and they did a really great job with that.

And also the music has turned out very powerful. Sometimes the black metal is kind of doom-laden, in some parts are some ghastly female vocals incorporated. And often it is just some monolithic, trance-like black metal ill-fevered dream. But at some point, there are almost danceable, super catchy parts to find also, like in "Cuutha – Necropolis". Galloping like a battle camel (remember, we are in the Middle East and I sometimes cannot do much else but using some stupid stereotypes) through the desert, this is a really super groovy song. Apart from the vocals which are more screamed out and remind me a lot of the second Zyklon album (if anybody still remembers this band). Also the melody-lines offer a lot of drama, especially in the last third of the track.

"The Seal – Blood Mediation" starts like a Lovecraftian horror story with sinister keyboard tunes and creeping guitars and spreads a certain uncomfortable and threatening atmosphere. Maybe it could be the perfect sound back then when Howard Carpenter opened King Tutankhamun back in 1922…and we all know about the curse of opening that very special grave, don't we? Underlined with Arabic tunes, this song is a quite doomy but very dark and sinister song. Of course it isn't about that event but deals with vampirism and sometimes I have a vivid mental imagination.

"The Age Of Eternal Night" is the last regular song on the album and with it comes some wild hunting again. This is a super fast and still very melodic song at the very beginning but here and there some slower parts have crept in. The song lives from its dense atmosphere that is created through the sawing guitars and the hateful vocals. So the album ends as it started – with some really harsh and raging black metal which is produced really well. Maybe the drums could sound a little bit more powerful but it could also depend on my speakers that don't sound as they could.

This is a really remarkable work from the Germans and if you have the chance to get the album or see them live, you should do that. You won't be disappointed, I promise!

Rating: 8.5 out of 10