Review by SzejkElRopa on February 25, 2026.

There is a classical Polish poem that is called, no less than, "Dies Irae", which presents a blasphemous view of the Day of Judgement, in which God, instead of being a righteous judge, sends everybody to hell and wreaks havoc across the earth. I don't know what the view on the Day of Wrath is for the person behind Faidra; however, he must have thought about it so much that he made an EP named like this.

The album can be divided into two parts: the one with the title track and the part with the last two tracks. Firstly, the album opens with chants, possibly singing a psalm. That’s only one of many atmospheric elements of this mini-album, which is more atmosphere-focused than trying to kill as many people as possible (as God did in the aforementioned poem). The first song is the most liturgical of all Faidra songs — it not only has those chants at the beginning and the end, but it also has an atmospheric break with a quote from the Book of Revelation, if I’m not mistaken. I would risk saying that it is the best Faidra song I have ever heard. What’s more, the sole member behind this project has just announced that he has started recording a new album. If it sounds like this — which means: catchy chorus, liturgical elements, great drum and guitar work — the album can be a fricking masterpiece.

The two remaining songs, 'Ixion' and 'Phantasmagoria', are much more folk-oriented, with unusual-for-Faidra atmospheric keyboards and some other folkish instruments that craft an interesting atmosphere and make this album quite composed, contrary to 'Dies Irae', which was quite aggressive. 'Phantasmagoria', for instance, has a calm (for black metal standards) refrain and drum bell sounds at the beginning. Both songs are guitar-driven (when folk instruments don’t kick in) by tremolo riffs that would fit both the first and the second album. The calmness is at times too overwhelming, which is the case with Faidra’s first album, "Six Voices Inside". It comes as no surprise, because these songs were made before the release of the second album.

Without doubt, the best riffs in this 21-minute-long EP were in the title track: they were melodic, galloping, and catchy. The same goes for drumming — the usage of cymbals was far more sophisticated than before. Even the bass guitar was audible, as it was with the previous full-length. The same words of praise can be said for the two remaining songs; however, they just fell short compared to 'Dies Irae'. On their own, these are good songs, but they aren’t better than those on the previous two albums. The vocals were pretty standard for Faidra.

"Dies Irae" serves as a good introduction to the upcoming album, with the title track, and has two songs that can be treated as extras for Faidra fans and for people who want to listen to atmospheric black metal with folk influences. 8.8, mainly due to the title track. I hope God likes this song on the Day of Wrath...

Rating: 8.8 out of 10