Review by Felix on April 2, 2025.

Hiems from Italy is a rather obscure project. Obscure in terms of the frequency of its releases, because it took 14 years to finish the successor of “Worship or Die”, but also obscure with regard to its style. This is no typical black metal, if such a thing exists at all. The uniformly designed tracks have a weakness for monotony and the evenness of their patterns creates a little industrial touch from time to time. On the other hand, there is a lack of atmospheric density. Maybe the album wants to be part of the suicidal black metal movement. If this is the case, it does not work. I am still living. Or is it only depressive black metal? Never mind.

There is just one guy called Algol responsible for the existence of Hiems. He sings, he plays almost all instruments and he seems to believe in the power of his riffs very much. Otherwise I cannot explain why he has a remarkable affinity for repetition, while he obviously hates surprising twists and turns. Even tempo changes seem to be a painful process for him. Nevertheless, from time to time he breaks out of his scheme. The menacing “Bringer of Light” is not as predictable as some other tunes of the album and it houses truly dense, massive parts without neglecting the fatal basic mood of the album. By the way, this mood is characterized by negativity in every known and yet-to-be-invented form. This sounds like the description of a black metal album, but I stand by it: just like the artwork, the musical content does not spread the typical black metal rays, at least not permanently. One reason for this is the pretty professional production that lacks the dirt of the underground and some parts where the late Satyr meets Pitchshifter.

Although the most used song formulas are not overly exciting, the songs are entertaining. No, “Worship or Die” is no album I like to listen to three times in a row. But I guess I understand the musical vision of the artist and his melange of gloomy, industrial, hypnotizing, elegiac, and alarming sounds does not lack a certain charm. “Wounds Just Death Can Heal”, for instance, creates a captivating vortex. Other tracks are simply too long and I have to admit that sometimes my thoughts drift away while I am listening to this work. Especially the title track with a misplaced drug-imbued seventies part cannot justify its opulent length. Worse still, once the Hammond organ has appeared, it ruins the following two tracks mercilessly, an intermezzo and a cover version. All in all, the album does not lack individuality. It is difficult to categorize. But that’s no problem – annoying is that it does not end after 40 minutes and seven tracks. The following loss of quality prevents a significantly better rating. So it is neither nor: I don't worship and I don't die (today, hopefully).

Rating: 7.1 out of 10