CHAMBER OF UNLIGHT – Avernus

vote
6.5

• Bands:
  CHAMBER OF UNLIGHT
• Duration: 00:35:33
• Available from: 07/31/2026
• Label:

• Werewolf Records

The debut of the Finnish Chamber Of Unlight, “Realm Of The Night” (2021), had convinced although it did not pretend to be innovative, now with the release of the new album we can get a more complete idea of ​​the stylistic direction that the mastermind Necrosis (Ajattara and ex Trollheims Grott, among others) wants to give to the project, which in the meantime has become a real band made up of no less than six elements.
This lineup includes, among others, well-known figures from the Finnish black metal scene such as the three members of Horna, LRH, VnoM and Spellgoth (the latter employed on keyboards, in this context).

From a technical and compositional point of view, one can easily notice in the present “Avernus” a truly remarkable overall growth and the production is also very respectable, proving almost perfect for a modern-style symphonic black metal album.
Speaking of musical influences, our band takes very little from the black metal tradition of their country, while the influences deriving from neighboring Norway are evident: it is possible to hear, for example, echoes of Emperor on the song “Night Chasm” or some references to the old Old Man's Child regarding a certain use of synths. Above all, what seems immediately evident is the marked influence of a group like Dimmu Borgir: the juxtapositions of emerging bands with leading groups, also with regard to symphonic black metal, are the order of the day, but in this specific case the mention finds particular justification and evidence.
Due to the way some riffs are composed and the way certain passages are performed (especially in “Wraithlike” and “Polkuni”), in fact, it seems that Chamber Of Unlight have been bewitched by one album in particular by the Norwegian band, namely “Spiritual Black Dimensions”. Unfortunately for the band led by Necrosis, however, “Avernus” does not present the same dense and oppressive atmosphere (indeed, for being a work dedicated to infernal punishments, we find that more emphasis could have been placed on the more effective construction of infernal and Luciferian atmospheres); It is also sad to hear throughout the work what appears to be an overly slavish attempt at imitation of Shagrath by the Finnish leader.
On the other hand, all this does not mean that there are a couple of songs that are truly above average, such as the triumphant “The Dagger”, supported by a thrilling main riff or the devastating opener “One With The One”.

The album itself is decent, especially if you love that kind of black metal with impeccable production, almost orchestral keyboard parts and black metal riffing supported occasionally by a death metal rhythmic base; However, it is a little disheartening to note a lack of personality that almost leads to blind emulation.
For the more dreamy souls who perhaps adored the sounds of Dimmu Borgir at the time of “Stormblåst”, then the advice is to go back to our debut album, mentioned at the beginning of the review: there the music really reflected the title of the album.