Review: Bloedmaan – Castle inside the Eclipse

Album art of Castle inside the Eclipse by Bloedmaan.

Introduction

Band: Bloedmaan
Album : Castle inside the Eclipse
Location: Belgium, Flanders
Genre: Black Metal

Lyrical Theme: Vampirism, Darkness, Desolation, Lovecraftian
Label: Immortal Frost Productions

Bloedmaan or in English, Bloodmoon released their first debut EP on the 15th of December. I’ve been listening to it a lot, and I’m ready to share my thoughts about it.

The band consists of sole member Ronarg. You may have heard that name before because he’s also in two other great Belgium bands, Antzaat and Ars Veneficium. In Antzaat he takes care of the vocals and guitar, and in Ars Veneficium he mostly takes care of the guitar parts. So he ain’t a new kid on the block. So, with some albums under his belt, you would think he got this down to a science, but is that the case?

Castle Inside the Eclipse

Therefore, what can we expect from this EP? There are 5 tracks on the mini-album with a runtime of 28 minutes. Which is fairly long for an EP (or I just don’t have any patient whatsoever, that’s also a possibility). If you look at the wonderful artwork (which is painted by Ronarg) you get a hint of what the album is about, the main theme of the EP is Vampiric and the artwork itself gives off a major Castlevania vibe, with a hint of Bloodborne (which of course is the greatest game of all time) so he’s off to a great start.

But the most important thing on an album is, of course, how is the music itself? If you are familiar with his other bands, you can hear some similarities, but for me, that isn’t a bad thing. It’s a well constructed EP with some great riffs and drums, and the vocals is how I like them in black metal, icy and harsh. The entire package creates a great atmosphere.

And that entire package makes for a great EP. The moment I saw the cover when the release was being announced it drew my attention towards it and for me, it did not disappoint. From the beginning to the end, that Vampiric atmosphere just keeps on oozing.

One of the highlights of the album is the track “Winged Flight Under the Pale Moon”. The title alone makes me want to listen to it straight away. It starts off rather slow, but it builds up to a faster tempo, while maintaining a great melodic vibe. This is the track I would recommend if you are looking for a feeling of what Bloedmaan is about. This is also the track with the better lyrics of all the tracks on the EP, and bonus points for making the lyrics available on Bandcamp and Metal Archives.

Deep in the night
Fear the light of the moon
Come, let us take flight.
We shall feast on innocent hearts tonight.

From: Winged Flight Under the Pale Moon

Another track that drew my attention is the last track with the title “The Hunter’s Dream”. As soon as I saw that, it made me think of the FromSoftware game Bloodborne where you play as a hunter and the main hub of the game is called The Hunter’s Dream. I checked the lyrics if it had any hint of this, but besides a focus on the Moon (which is also of great importance in the game) there weren’t any leads, but It wouldn’t surprise me if this track got inspired by the game.

And it’s this beacon of darkness
upon the highest of mountains
it sleeps, it dreams, it sings,
its bittersweet symphony of the night

From: The Hunter’s Dream

Conclusion

Do you love atmospheric/melodic black metal? If you answer that question with a yes, this EP is for you and you really need to give it a listen. The EP is well put together, and I am really looking forward to what Ronarg will bring to the altar when he releases a full album under the Bloedmaan brand. You can listen to the album on your favorite streaming platform or by clicking on the YouTube video below. The only thing left to do is to give a rating…

BMZ Rating: 8 out of 10

YouTube player

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