I recently got to see Los Angeles’ Lamp of Murmur with Dödsrit and the mighty Blackbraid. It was my first exposure to their brand of Black Metal craziness, and I wasn’t disappointed, not only are they fun to listen to, but they’re insane live.

The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy is their 4^th full-length after a slew of demos from 2019-2020, and the release of their first full-length Ecliptical Romanticism in 2020. I’m not going into this completely blind since I saw them live prior to getting the promo. Still, I’ve become an Insta-fan (just add blood), and I love The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy.

“The Fires of Seduction” serves as the introduction before the trippy as fuck “Forest of Hallucinations”. It’s unrelenting delivery hits from the get-go with some Dissection feels circa The Somberlain. It’s not a short song either, clocking in at 9:12. But it doesn’t feel like forever because Lamp of Murmuur keep shit interesting throughout, not just this track, the whole album is full of surprises.

“Hategate (The Dream-Master’s Realm)” is a blistering 2^nd wave Black Metal attack. A bit Watain-ish and that’s al-fucking-right with me. Lamp of Murmuur fuck with tempos from deathly gloom to howling at the blackened moon. These riffs are cold as graveyard dirt, cold and heavy.

“Reincarnation of a Witch” pulses with the heartbeat of the night. This is a crushing and straightforward blasterpiece. No frills Black Metal, and that’s really what we’re talking about here. There’s this cool Diabolical Masquerade centerpiece with swirling guitars and keyboards, and then boom, those remorseless riffs come pounding back over the thrashing drums. It segues into “Angelic Vortex”, a quiet respite from the unholy beating you just received… but it’s not over yet.

I love mid-paced Black Metal as much as the next guy, and “The Dreaming Prince in Ectasy Part I – Moondance” delivers that right off the bat, but then it speeds up before the main riff comes rushing back in and they go full on Fields of the Nephilim for the solo bit, but then at the 5:42 point it mellows for like, one minute and it’s back to the blasts till tracks end.

“The Dreaming Prince In Ectasy Part II – Twilight Orgasm” begins in truly epic fashion, big assed riffs against the backdrop of haunting keyboards. It sits like a coiled serpent from 2:43-3:21 when it comes on with this swaggering, mid-paced burner, it’s one of my favorite tracks on The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy. “The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy Part III – The Fall” is the end of that little trilogy, I guess that’s what you’d call it. It’s unrelenting, like being stabbed to death by a million tiny knives as the staccato riffing and artillery shell drums take over. At the 4:49 point, there’s some massive gang vocals and some killer blasting.

“A Brute Angel’s Sorrow” sees them slow down considerably; it’s another Dark Wave track with some gorgeous tapestries hung in the keyboard’s notes. This is such a somber pace, and it closes the album beautifully.

As I said earlier, seeing Lamp of Murmuur live made me an insta-fan. The energy that they have on stage translates to the album perfectly and makes for an attention-grabber from start to finish. The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy is a fucking powerhouse Black Metal album. It has a massive production that makes everything crisp and concise.

At the end of the day, I wholeheartedly recommend this album. If you like Watain, Dissection, and the 2^nd wave of Black Metal, you’ll eat this one up. Getting it will increase your blood flow and get your heart racing.

[Visit the band's website]

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