Review: One of Nine – Eternal Sorcery

As we are today, draped in a veil of absurdity in this brave new world for the fool where Ignorance thrives and all have succumbed to the way of the layman, there’s not much in the way of solace for the old soul to be found; no promise of wiser days to come, only the assurance of our further descent into madness as the flames of hysteria are fanned hotter by the desperation of millions each passing moment. But to those under the Black Mark, if you turn your ears to the underground and listen close enough, you’ll hear a distant call from days of yore; enchanting whispers to guide you to where sword and steed are the measures of men. On October 27, through ancient rites and a blood pact with Wolves of Hades, One of Nine will unveil their debut offering “Eternal Sorcery”.

Eternal Sorcery

Torch lit corridors through dungeons forlorn illuminated before you now as you begin your journey. “Lurkers of the Half-Light” – what feels like a brief homage to Marduk’s “Those of the Unlight” to set the tone, but the early 90s revelry stops there. As you venture a bit deeper, it’s to the violence of purely aggressive black metal as each surging progression unfolds into the next before medieval acoustics bridge the gap between “The Silence of Heaven” and “Dark Magic River”. Both cuts, balancing the scales with equal parts of modernity and old-school; resulting in a most Watain-like experience. Other more transcendental tracks like “Moonlit Sacrifice” and “Wrathful Rebirth” enrich an already full-bodied recording with enrapturing cinematic during the intro to the former and dreamlike acoustics throughout the latter. Whispering spoken-words and the tapping into of ancient energies to cool what’s been an otherwise fevered onslaught of medieval black metal that pushes the limits of intensity, rather than the more wholesome aesthetic of akin projects like Hulder and her most recent works. “Eternal Sorcery”, despite its cover art and title, exudes the same level of complexity, muscle and occult spirit as albums like Serpent Noir’s “Death Clan OD” or Thy Darkened Shade’s “Liber Lvcifer II: Mahapralaya”. A true genre-spanning effort and a testament to the brilliant evolution of black metal that strays not afar from the spirit of medievalry is “Eternal Sorcery”.

Conclusion

The time has come to unlock the gates to realms forgotten and uncover the ancient secrets of sorcery – magic that echoes from the mystical yore into the tatters of our perilous today. And the black metal this awakening is sound tracked to is nothing less than of the world-class variety. A powerful debut released under the seal of a true underground institution. True BM’s place is within the underground! And One of Nine are making their impact beneath the surface with a most profound footprint. It’s as if they’ve been at it for years, and their channeling of respected collectives such as the Azaghal, Emperor and the aforementioned Watain only sweetens the deal. The sheep drone on! And there’s no escaping this onset into global collapse apart from in the wisdom, tales, and magic of years already spent. Sorcery is eternal! Experience it now…

This album gets an 8.5/10