Much like Warmoon Lord‘s recent opus, you can tell just from the moniker, the ‘not Emperor’s Into the Nightside Eclipse art work at all’,  cover art and song titles (“Crossing the Blackest Skies”, “The Illusive Wings of Death”, “Crown of Stars”, ) and the cover of Gates of Ishtar‘s “Dawn of Flames”, what you are getting into from this Greek solo artist’s third album; pure 90s melodic death/black metal.

Land of Darkness is one of the better efforts I’ve heard in the last few years, up there with Vinland and Istapp,  and the man behind the project , ‘Soulreaper’ delivers a really enjoyable, solid homage for fans of Dissection, Gates of Ishtar, Unanimated, Sacramentum, Catamenia and such. As with the peers just mentioned, it takes 90s melodic death metal and gives it a frosty, blackner sheen and sense of brittle energy with some solid and enjoyable riffs scattered around the album.

The likes of the title track, “The Illusive Wings of Death”, “Faded to Silence” and  “Isolation” all have some excellent, shrill, icy blasting while the likes of “Lord Of False Reality” and standout “Crown of Stars” (even effectively using a electric violin similar to Ebony Tears‘ debut early in the song) have a little more somber, atmospheric restraint amid and occasional acoustic break the frosty, tremolo picked ferocity. and there is the requisite acoustic number ” Shaped by Grief”, to close out the album before the ripping cover of “The Dawn of Flames” by one of the genre’s influential, but short-lived standouts, Gates of Ishtar.

A great pick up for the usually much nastier, grimier Hells Headbangers. Let’s hope they can reissue the last album, Realm of the Bleeding Shadows as its just as good, but a bitch to find.

[Visit the band's website]

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