First of a brace of discs landing on us from Fallen Temple in Poland sees home-grown talent Vermisst (Missing) in action. Relatively a new band forming only in 2018 they already have 2 demos and a split with Plaguespawn to their name prior to this EP of ‘Paranormal black metal’. Comprising of two wraparound and highly atmospheric instrumental tracks and three vocalised contributions sandwiched in the middle, as usual the first task of this all Polish language release was try and get some sense of themes. The moon is obviously an important one beaming down over a forest on the cover art and the title of the EP translates to ‘Twilight Of Steel Darkness.’

Slow bouncing timpani drumming mark passage across the night-sky as we enter this shadowy domain. Mayhem’s opening gambit could well be in the back of the mind listening to it. From here Czas chtonicznej zemsty (Time Of Chtonic Revenge) batters in with a slight drop in production volume giving it a gnarly and hateful edge as everything flies out with clattering and vengeful abandon. Vorghast gives a commanding performance whatever language you speak, with austere growly vocals formidably haranguing over the top of the battering musical heft. This is olden-style black metal make no mistake, Keyboards are utilised in the backdrop adding eldritch and sorrowful tones as things continue and bristle with a misanthropic hue. Speaking of which ‘Zamarznięte płomienie mizantropii’ not only gives some indication of this but actually slows the pace and takes us into what sounds like a frozen night on Bare Mountain. Ragged roars are launched from the singer’s throat howling and bitter and the keyboards really ramp up the atmosphere. The contrast is effective after the harried pace of its predecessor and this takes a classic stance from whatever the Polish equivalent of mighty Transylvanian Forests may be. Longest track ‘W pozagrobowej przestrzeni’ embraces the afterlife mixing both rugged and bracing furrows with an underlying majesty which both draws the listener in and spits them out venomously. The closing instrumental part is of sufficient length to be fully absorbed too and has an icy demeanour and sends frosty shivers down the spine leaving you anticipating what could come next from this young but intriguing outfit.

(7/10 Pete Woods)

https://fallentemple.bandcamp.com/album/zmierzch-stalowej-ciemno-ci