Ancient Torment‘s debut album has finally been announced.
Since its formation in 2016, the band led by Zealot (drums, Witch King), Tormentum (guitar, I, Destroyer, Witch King), Apparition (guitar, Cruciamentum, Imindain, ex-Crepitation, ex-Perdition Temple), Stygal (vocals, Nonsecretor, ex-Black Sorcery) and Czarnobóg (bass, ex-Black Sorcery) has released one demo, one split and two EPs. In 2025, it signed with Eternal Death to create Follow the Echo of Curses, illustrated by David Thiérrée (Behemoth, Ihsahn, Kjeld, Mork, Mortiis, Sorcier des Glaces…).
Hanging from a Dead Star’s raw sound is the first to grip us with its chilling yet visceral approach, coupling scathing riffs and terrifying vociferations. The continuous flow never seems to subside, even when the drums slow down for a moment before resuming their frenetic charge until Spectre at the Crossroads, where we discover a heavier, even rather mystical atmosphere. The track remains fairly short, but navigates us through its murky swirls before handing over to Sorrow Verses, which develops its wild Old School roots while emphasizing the melodic side of the harmonics. The infernal sound adapts rather well to these heady spikes, with the vocalist giving them a special place, but the track breaks up with feedback before taking off again for a final haunting flight before giving way to Dejected Dreams Molested in Purgatory and its more plaintive, but at the same time more aggressive, tones. I could almost hear some DSBM influences in the more striking passages, but Under the Guise of Virtue quickly reverts to a very raw, abrasive sound, gradually tinting its guitars with a fascinating veil of mystery, taking advantage of its length to make itself even more felt in the final moments before moving on to Rotting Temperament, a final composition that once again blends the band’s chaotic atmosphere with its phases of dark fury, but also its intoxicating harmonics that manage to change the tone of the riffs, ultimately reinforcing them and blending in brilliantly.
My first contact with Ancient Torment was already quite old, and I can see that the band’s evolution continues in an ever more furious direction. Follow the Echo of Curses sounds like a perfectly realized bridge between Old School Black Metal and gripping atmosphere.
90/100
