I debated busting out my nonexistent cloak for this one, but I’ve instead decided to keep this one a dark comedy. Evil, yet light-hearted, ya know?
Here, in the great Midwest, the storms and gloomy weather are in full spring—get it—nature’s Katharsis. Eh, you’ll get it.
Yeesh.
I’ll see myself out.
Funny enough, I conversed with a fellow black metal enthusiast a few weeks ago about one of our favorite cult classics, Germany’s Katharsis. And while there’s certainly some—OK, a lot—of Katharsis worship on Realms….., as advertised, there are traces of bands like Concrete Winds, too. So, if you’re looking for vehemence, you shall find it. The thing about those two bands is the notion and reminder that an album doesn’t necessarily have to be the archetypal “enjoyable” listen for its duration. Art doesn’t, for that matter, and it shouldn’t. Discomfort is a must, especially regarding black metal. At least that’s what the trve kvlt fans say.
A few tracks surpass the seven-minute marker, and there’s little to no breathing room—at all. If you trace back to last year’s self-titled Concrete Winds LP, and recall “Daylight Amputations,” Hexerei very much matches that level of asphyxiation throughout. And if that’s something you fancy, you’ll discover “The Sabbath Red” to be a particularly tasty song. But instead of a sub-three-minute track like the aforementioned “Daylight Amputations,” “The Sabbath Red” seeps its way into your bone marrow for a lengthy 10 minutes. Somehow, it maintains its pummeling nature without becoming annoyingly repetitive. Sure, it’s full of tremolo riffs and blasts, but each part eventually circulates back around in its own way, navigating through subtle slowed twists and turns like a sinister bout of déjà vu.
The leading indicators of Hexerei’s Katharsis influence are the vocal delivery and guitar tone, which they do well. Just like the German band, Hexerei relies on cavernous, delay-soaked production that creates that suffocating, layered wall-of-guitar sound—primitive and raw, indeed. Take, for example, the opener, “Omenstorm Massacre.” That first primitive, blood-curdling scream is as haunting as that tortured little soul reaching out for your embrace on the album cover. The build-up to the eventual onslaught of blast beats and rapid-fire riffs is where Hexerei really shines on the opener, but moments like this are scattered around the album, too. And perhaps that’s what kept me so enthralled. Oh, and there’s a sweet little black metal guitar solo thrown in there around the halfway point.
The most bit-sized offerings on the record, “Across the Realm of Blood” and “Skinless Prophecies Ablaze,” each no shorter than five minutes might I add, are more straightforward than their counterparts yet still fit into the overarching mission of creating not only the most malevolent-sounding album thus far into 2025, but the most violent. Here, you’ll reap the benefits of that raw production—echoing amplifiers and all. Like most black metal releases, the atmosphere is the backbone of its character. Hexerei captures the spirit of what used to make music sound so dangerous. Of course, music’s shock value has worn off for most, but something about Realms….. comes across as authentic and genuinely startling. Words don’t do it justice; you’ll have to indulge for yourself.
Realms….. seizes the aura of what made black metal so special in the first place—blurring lines between what may or may not be honest—and all of that is the direct result of the music itself. It’s as sinister as you’d expect and then some. Sure, old-school fans will, without a doubt, adore this release, but those seeking the more challenging aspects of art will, too. While this may sound counterproductive, it’s not an easy listen, but the right of passage is worth it. A pleasant surprise and my favorite black metal release five months into 2025, Hexerei’s Realms….. is terrifying…..yet…..oh, no…..here I go…..kathartic.
