2024s Black Metal Cult was a perfect slab of French Black Metal from Meyhnach’s Mütiilation, and it was my first time covering one of the long-standing powerhouses of French Black Metal. Pandemonium of Egregores is the more melodic follow-up to that church-burning masterpiece, and it’s a certified crusher.

Five tracks in 32:05 is just long enough to be a full-length, and that’s where Pandemonium of Egregores lurks, in these darkened winter shadows where you think you’re safe; it’s an unsettling album, like the strange geometry in Lovecraft’s Dreams in the Witch House.

Beginning with the “Overture”, the beast is let loose with the True Mayhem-ish “Shadows over the Valley”. Meyhnach’s raspy howl echoes the Wolf’s Lair Abyss and Grand Declaration of War era of True Mayhem to a T. There’s this cool Punky riff in the chorus that just kicks against the blitzkrieg drums and creates all sorts of havoc.

Not to be outdone, “Fifty Winters” is hands down my favorite track on Pandemonium of Egregores. Its suitably frozen delivery had ice falling from my phone in little razor-sharp riffs. It almost has a bit of a Blackbraid aggression to it (especially their “ Wardrums at Dawn on the Day of My Death” from Blackbraid III).

As I said, this is more of a melodious approach than on Black Metal Cult. That’s not saying that they went total Funeral Doom or wacky shit like that; I’m saying that Mütiilation gives the songs time to breathe before throttling you with cascades of blast beats. The title track is where they lay their souls bare, so to speak. For almost eight minutes (7:54 to be exact), you’re subjected to the aural equivalent of the planet cracking in half.

For a band that has been in existence since 1992, Mütiilation have consistently released the best that France has to offer, starting with 1995’s Vampires of Black Imperial Blood (my favorite album). The production is spectacular, as is to be expected, although the bass could have been bumped up a notch to bring it forward a tad.

Final track “Hashischin Cage” moves deftly between blasting and mid-paced. A great closer to this solid release. If you love Deathspell Omega or the True Mayhem, then Pandemonium of Egregores is the album that will get you through the winter. Picking this album up will make you immortal!

[Visit the band's website]

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