Review by SzejkElRopa on September 20, 2026.

I've never been drawn to space-based fantasy films. No matter whether it was Star Wars, Star Trek, or whatever you'd like to put here, I know some of you might be quite surprised; they didn't attract me at all. However, when I was a child, I often found myself grasping for knowledge about stars, planets, and, as a result, I was absolutely mesmerised by the vastness of the universe. Why are we here? Are there any other civilisations besides ours? And although Nihilvm, a band I will talk about today, doesn't answer any of these or other questions, it must resonate with my inner child because "Ancient Cosmic Emanation" is an unforgettable work.

From the instrumental opener - 'Arcy Triumf Śmierci' - the idea of how the album sounds is simple. You get absolutely crushed under the sound of malevolent guitars and heavy drums. There is no room for any cheesy melodies; however, we will get to that. A fantastic representation is given by any track you'd like. Let's take, for example, 'Transcendencja'. As I said before, the sound of guitars and fast-paced drums is overwhelming, as it used to be with me and the cosmos when I was a child. However, the chaos is carefully calculated with mathematical precision, as is the place of Earth in the Solar System. The vocals are standard death metal growls and simple shouts. The latter work exceptionally well because they, combined with other musical elements, construct the album in a way that makes it feel like an astral journey. It also gives the impression of a dark ritual taking place in the depths of cosmic (because where else?) hell. If you look carefully at the artwork, it exactly matches the musical and lyrical content. Rhythm guitars drop heavy riffs intermittently, and lead guitars play more melodic tremolo riffs, which, despite not being very melodic and slightly hidden beneath the vocals, instantly fall into memory. To support my thesis about the ritualistic character of music, one must take a look at 'Nihilizm Ostateczny (Zawiła Droga Ku Boskości)'. This song (as well as others to a lesser extent, such as 'Srebrzyste Ostrza Gwiazd') opens with echoing shouts that instantly build tension and distress, as though one were entering through a gate to another dimension. And lastly, 'Koniuracja' features chanted vocals close to the end, which absolutely immersed me in the atmosphere they crafted. Incredible stuff.

I said that I'd get back to the melodies part. "Ancient Cosmic Emanation" features yet another great part I haven't told about. Those are guitar solos, which, yes, are definitely more melodic than the rest of the album. However, the backup rhythm guitar suffocates their melodic character. Is it a good thing? I believe so - absolutely. However, maybe on 'Zjadacze Światów', the solo should have been more highlighted. Regarding other solos on the album, such as in 'Reticulum' and 'Transcendencja', they were stunning. Their placement was fantastic, and they never destroyed the song with overmelodicity. The drummer, who might come as a surprise to some, is a woman, and needless to say, she fantastically drives the album. There is variety in every element, and I think the drums get enough punch, because if they were even more dominant, the album would get too chaotic. I've got to say - if you aren't a Polish listener, you might not enjoy the album as much as I enjoyed it. That's because 80% of the lyrics are easily understandable; however, they aren't (as of the time of writing this review) publicly available. It's quite a shame, because they brilliantly work with the music and the artwork. If you understand Polish (at least to some extent), you'll hear the favourite Polish word in 'Transcendencja', trust me. It threw me off at first; I can't lie, but I had to include it here.

When I was a kid, I was looking for more and more obscure things. It hasn't changed since, because what normal person listens to an album called "Ancient Cosmic Emanation" and praises it? Whatever your childhood was and whether or not you are a Star-Wars/Interstellar/(insert show here) geek, if you listen to black metal with death metal elements, I absolutely recommend this album. Despite lasting 39 minutes, it has atmosphere, heaviness, melodies, and surprises that might suit everyone. If I were to slightly criticise it, I'd say that after some time it's a bit (but only a bit) hard to tell some songs apart. Secondly, I deeply believe that these guys have even more potential, so I will save a potential close-to-perfection score for later. Thus, a fair rating is 9.3/10. It doesn't strike perfection yet, but it is undoubtedly one of the very best albums I've listened to in a while.

Rating: 9.3 out of 10