Review by Jeger on November 4, 2025.

The Devil has his unassuming yet highly-effective ways of seduction; those lustful moments when you feel as though you need to fuck or do your favorite drug. The Devil's path is the way to ecstasy and passion! The Devil is in us all… He is watching and He is whispering - that little voice inside your head that tells you to rebel, to take revenge or to act out in rage. To take power! And never to serve… To war! And never to surrender…

The Devil is power and it's been since the First Wave days of olde that Black Metal has been a vessel for that power. From the Inner Circle, crude Diabolism and lighting Churches on fire to Nödtveidt, the MLO and his eventual transformation, on through to today's contemporary Occult Black Metal collectives like Serpent Noir & Mortuus, for example, whose members are initiated into the Draconian Blood Cult, Dragon Rouge, Black Metal's integration with the Occult and vice-versa over the decades has been key to how the genre has evolved into its current state of mystifying its listeners like never before. But we're here today to get back to the fundamentals of Devil worship, not to go to some fancy Occult convention in Sweden. And it happens to be Sweden's Malakhim who've emerged from out of the void and onto the scene with hearts ablaze for the Faustian night. On Hallows Eve, they released their sophomore effort, "And In Our Hearts The Devil Sings", via Iron Bonehead.

Following the foreboding tolling of a bell, it's into the stream - a roaring river of Black Metal - impossible momentum one moment, filthy Black & Roll vibes the next and a panic-inducing dose of what is generally missing from most BM albums when it is sorely needed, and that is urgency… This thing (the opening titular track) feels like it could go off like a MOAB at any moment due to the controlled cacophony of guitar riffs that race, pound and palpitate like pre-cardiac arrhythmias during most of the track's duration. There are also these stunning transitions from those aforementioned Black & Roll parts into glorious, towering rhythm-backed melodic passages. All in one song. And we're past the point of no return now…

"Hell is empty and all the Devils are here..."
~William Shakespeare

The Devil is in our History: from the madness of Nero, to the power-drunkenness of Napoleon, to Bill Clinton getting his dick sucked in the Oval Office, all the way through to the global hysteria that's taking place today. In every hush decision. In every dime made at the expense of someone else's suffering. You see, it's the Devil's world…

"Solar Crucifixion" is much like a typical Sargeist song in that there's so much going on - layer upon layer of sound, and yet it simply glides; rolling along now to the melodies and galloping along to the beats. This is why I listen to Black Metal; when it's so melodic and so moving that I find myself in a state of being ensnared and enthralled by it. When the music means so much to the Artist that it just radiates this youthful sort of energy that infects everyone who listens to it. And we're in for a little Marduk/Watain action as "Angel Of The Bottomless Pit" plays out like something off of "Memento Mori" during its first half and like something off of "The Agony & Ecstasy of Watain" during it's second - a clinic in Sverige BM has "And In Our Hearts The Devil Sings" become…

"The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he doesn't exist."
~Charles Baudelaire

The Devil is awaiting your call, your ritual! For you to show your dedication and for you to find him where he lurks in the dark, as Malakhim has done with "Hearts Ablaze". In the fever of summoning; calling Him forth through the gates now with clarity and with authority before the experience culminates with "The Firmament Submits" - a sonic exposition of everything that this band has done so well up until this point: melody, harmony and Malakhim's turning up of their noses in the face of nostalgia. We need more albums like this! The scene needs more albums like this one that see the genre in a state of thriving, as opposed to bands resorting to this perpetual reaching into the past for inspiration.

With "And In Our Hearts The Devil Sings", Malakhim delivers a perfect Black Metal album from top to bottom. Not a single lacking album cut, nor a moment of fluff to be found here. It's like when you eat a meal that's been cooked at home with passion and with care. The food just tastes better than it would've had you just thrown something together for yourself out of impatient hunger. Malakhim literally leaves it all out on the table with this record. It is the product of a band just being in the zone - that place where momentum, ambition and passion converge; resulting in powerful albums like "And In Our Hearts The Devil Sings". This is the apex! The opus… The one to be remembered by. Hail!

Rating: 10 out of 10