Sumerian Tombs – Age of Eternal Night

vote
7.5

• Band:
  Sumerian Tombs
• Duration: 01:06:00
• Available from: 11/04/2025
• Label:

• Ván Records

Streaming not yet available

After a good debut, the Sumerian Tombs return with “Age of Eternal Night”, a disc that confirms the band's solidity and marks a good step forward on their path. If the first homonymous work of 2022 had struck for the immediacy and the crudeness of the sound, this second chapter presents itself more finished, with a more structured writing and a melodic approach capable of inserting itself in music without distorting the brutality that characterized their proposal from the beginning.
The coordinates remain those of an atmospheric and primordial black metal metal, which has its roots in the sounds and structures of the 90s, but capable of renewing itself thanks to a more aware management of the contrasts between violence and melody: despite the propensity for raw riffing and the tight incendere, the band manages to alternate moments of great impact with more dreamlike passages, with a result that knows how to be so fierce.
There are very tasty and incisive songs, such as “Edimmu Rising”, which opens the disc – after a brief introduction – with an overwhelming force, thanks to a riff that cuts like a blade and a melody that, while remaining simple, manages to be remembered. “Cuuta – Necropolis” is one of the peaks of the work, seven minutes in which the band takes time to explore an extremely evocative dimension without losing in intensity.
The suggestion is not lacking even at almost more Heavy moments than Black, such as the arrogant “Epitaph in Blood”, with excellent changes of times, or in the tasty title-track, “Age of Eternal Night”, to represent a good meeting point between the epic shades and the destructive fury typical of the black metal, with a crescendo that leaves no escape and that well embodies the spirit of the disc: containing a ferocity without discounts, but next to which a good dose of musicality coexist.
It should be noted that the last four songs on the disc are presented, despite the lineup, as a CD bonus in its own right: here the Sumerian Tombs dare with very different sounds compared to the rest of the tracklist, with almost doom moments in some cases or with sometimes daressed suggestions; Although interesting, we reward the idea of ​​separating them from the actual disc, since we struggle to understand why they were inserted here.
Perhaps “Age of Eternal Night” does not represent a masterpiece that will rewrite the history of black metal, but proves convincing, managing to carry on a coherent and inspired proposal. The work on the melody, although it is never predominant, enriches the writing and dynamics of the disc, making sure that even the most brutal moments remain impressed without sliding in the monotony. A good example of modern Black Metal that keeps its roots well in mind, with a personality growing listening to listening.
“To keep an eye on”we said in 2022: Well, we confirm the thought. To the neighbor, however, we expect the real leap in quality.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vffmkged1fq