Hetroertzen is back.
Since 1997 under the name of Hhahda and after a demo, the Chilean band changes its name, then releases six albums. In 2022, Frater D (drums, Die Kunst der Finsternis, Sapientia, ex-Horns…), Åskväder (guitar, ex-Myling) and Anubis (guitar/vocals, Sapientia) announce Phosphorus Vol I, their seventh album, on Listenable Records.
The Arrival offers us some mysterious sounds to begin the album, as well as ghostly choirs which gradually approach us, then leave us on Sea in Black, an imposing composition which also reveals raucous vocals. The combo’s cosmic Black Metal slows down to offer more martial strikes and ominous elements before speeding up again for the aggressive final, which will give birth to The Hall of Wonders and its heady leads. The majestic sound becomes heavy and oppressive, letting effects feed saturation and its darkness, while letting the band offer strange elements between two bursts of violence, but Absorption of the Current I comes to delivers us a short moment of respite before using sharp and effective riffs which reveal airy melodies. The haunting sound bewitches us before letting us breathe and moving on to Absorption of the Current II, which remains in those airy but slightly more aggressive tones. The furious blast gives way to softer and more mysterious riffs, then the combination of the two reveals a hypnotic contrast, in opposite to the Black/Thrash influences of Vultus Satani and its lively energy. The rhythm is broken before resuming on catchy riffs and heady leads, then Et In Arcadia Ego unveils raw aggressiveness. The hoarse vocals mix easily with the riffs’ Old School influences as well as the mystical sounds which slowly progress in this dark ritual, then I am Sickness I am Death returns on more straightforward tonalities. One will notice this scathing bass sound, but also the massive vocal parts which gradually return to the heavy atmosphere at the end, before Pantokrator comes to offer heavy sounds and Doom influences between two bursts. Disturbing sounds mix with this strange basis before blast resurfaces, finally leaving us in the darkness which drives us to The Conjuring of the Seven Spirits, the last track, which will continue in this contrasting dynamic between soaring sounds and massive basis.
With its very soaring mix, Hetroertzen unveils mystical sounds which easily blend with pure aggression. Phosphorus Vol I will hypnotize a receptive audience, while offering some Old School sounds to attract the curious ones.
75/100
