Band: Immortuus
Album: Shadow Over Wisborg
Genre: Black Metal
Country: Chile
Label: Unsigned Independent
Released: 2026
Introduction
Especially here in the roaring 2020s there's been quite a microgenre-defining, statuesque resurgence of reasonably high-fidelity Raw Vampiric Black Metal in the vein of mostly Finnish, but also to a similarly notable extent, French Black Metal predecessors; and quite a lot of bands that fit this description come from the South American Continent. I would say mostly Finnish with a dash of French flavor seems to be the formula, and Immortuus from Chile is one of the finest examples of this subtype of high-class Black Metal that I've heard all year.
Shadow Over Wisborg
Track listing:
1. In The Nightrealm of Orlok
2. At the Gates of Wisborg
3. Into the Mountains
4. The Lightless Castle
5. Blood in the House of Graves
6. Coffins Across the Black Sea
7. The Reign of the Plague
8. She Who Waits for Dawn
9. Ashes at First Light
I knew within my first time hearing the first section of the introductory riff, this is a solid album. I appreciate the simplicity of the theme exclusively centered around the 1922 Nosferatu movie and nothing else, but that's more or less a bonus in my book. For a record spearheaded by a veteran elder-millennial Black Metal musician who's been active in the metal scene since the late 2000s, with at least half a decade of discipline put into perfecting his own style of 'Finnish Black Metal Worship' exclusively before and after separating from Ad Finem Omnia, Immortuus' debut album Shadow over Wisborg delivers 9 full, complex, cohesive arrangements that evolve fluidly and flow like Black Metal masterpieces should in my view.
As much as I love intro/outro masterpieces when they really are that good, I strongly prefer when artists just jump right in and hit me with a record from top to bottom like a train without interludes taking up entire tracks; which is exactly what Immortuus brings to the table with this vampiric Black Metal opus. Rather than disrupting the consistently established flow that carries the listener throughout the entire album, some of these tracks instead naturally bleed into short postludes or short motifs (like a distorted organ) that gracefully close each dark hymn that ends that way.
Which brings me to an area I'd like to compliment as someone who has a lot of experience in more than a few Digital Audio Workstations. The recording, mixing, and mastering here is ideal for this niche subtype of Black Metal in a way I would consider pretty close to immaculate. I'm not going to pretend to know anything about Daemoth's recording/mixing process, (no matter how familiar anyone is with DSP plugins "what plugins/gear did you use?" is a pretty universal question that usually leads to trade secrets in private discussions if you're lucky), but I love everything about the mixdown here for this specific type of Black Metal. I love how glued together everything sounds. The vocals are perfectly leveled for my taste and aren't overpowering any of the other elements. I love what sounds like analogue saturation colouring every layer. I love how the drums sound naturally compressed by tape saturation. I love being able to hear the tape hiss in the noise floor between tracks. The whole experience sounds analogue in all the right ways, while also delivering the whole package with high-fidelity meat I expect from artists in the current decade to be able to finetune with modern tech being as plentiful and accessible as it's been for the past 2 decades. This is a very high-tier of "High-Fidelity Raw Black Metal Production." Other Chilean producers would be wise to take notes.
In today's age, especially with the forever evolving landscape of digital audio production, cutting a record that sounds like this here is impressive. Things like overdrive-based analog saturation recording techniques are becoming more and more of an esoteric art form. In the world of Black Metal some might call it witchcraft or wizardry since every genre has its trade secrets. Whether every layer of this album was completely modeled to sound like this digitally, or involves analog gear to whatever extent it may have involved; this is a mixdown that compliments the maelstrom of dark harmonies present here in a way that sounds highly intentional; and I hope Immortuus takes this as a cue to keep it up. It's the icing on a perfectly baked cake.
Conclusion:
If you're someone who loves high-fidelity modern Black Metal records that sound as loud as they can, and make a strong impact, but are also someone who's equally fond of more blurry sounding, obscure "4 track tape recorder style" lo-fi BM, Immortuus - Shadow over Wisborg in my opinion is the best of both worlds merged into one cutting-edge entity. It's a 10/10 record in my book, and hope you all enjoy it as much as I do.
BMZ Rating: 10/10
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