||  Artist......: Yoth Iria                                          ||
||  Album.......: Blazing Inferno                                    ||
||  Year........: 2024                                               ||

||  Genre.......: Black Metal                                        ||
||  Label.......: Edged Circle Productions                           ||

||  Source......: WEB (16bit)                                        ||
||  Encoder.....: libFLAC                                            ||
||  Bitrate.....: 980 kbps avg.                                      ||
||  F.Rate......: 44.1kHz                                            ||

||  Playtime....: 00:36:24 / 267.92MB                                ||
||  R.Date......: 2024-11-07                                         ||
||  S.Date......: 2024-11-08                                         ||
||  Website.....: http://play.qobuz.com/album/zcqgdw0nt2wbb          ||

||  01. Blazing Inferno                                     3:35     ||
||  02. But Fear Not                                        4:11     ||
||  03. In the Tongue of Birds                              5:25     ||
||  04. Rites of Blood and Ice                              4:55     ||
||  05. Purgatory Revolution                                5:13     ||
||  06. Mornings of the One Thousand Golds                  4:59     ||
||  07. Our Father Rode Again His Ride                      3:55     ||
||  08. We Call Upon the Elements                           4:11     ||

||  Presenting Lucifer’s gift to mankind as a fire set by the        ||
||  burning rays of intellect imbued Athens, Greece-based black      ||
||  metal quintet YOTH IRIA celebrate the key that would unlock      ||
||  free will for all as they continue to revive a life’s work       ||
||  spent passing on this ungentle reminder through the density of   ||
||  fast-cycling, dead-eyed generations. From the old guard and the  ||
||  new this sophomore full-length, ‘Blazing Inferno‘, translates    ||
||  an ancient cult-borne and ruddy form of devotion into a          ||
||  highest-possible standard of render and expression. Kept simple  ||
||  in statement yet entertaining as melody driven and intricately   ||
||  voiced black metal with a uniquely Hellenic heavy metal          ||
||  spiritus this second coming is pure inspiration for the devotee  ||
||  and a finely crafted, memorable experience most black metal      ||
||  attuned folks should find redeeming.                             ||

||  Yoth Iria formed circa 2019 by the will of Jim Mutilator a       ||
||  bassist, songwriter and lyricist who was directly responsible    ||
||  for the Hellenic black metal sound and its legacy via            ||
||  co-founding Rotting Christ and playing an integral role to       ||
||  Varathron‘s formation and development early on. Zine editor,     ||
||  music store owner, and lifetime fan most Mutilator‘s             ||
||  explanation as to why he’d returned to back metal speak to a     ||
||  sense of belonging moreso than ownership, though all that he’d   ||
||  create under this new band has been consistently authentic to    ||
||  the Greek black metal sound he’d help propagate ages ago. Of     ||
||  course the early line-up also notably featured the equally       ||
||  venerable creator of this sound The Magus (Necromantia) on       ||
||  vocals alongside drummer J.V. Maelstrom (Embrace of Thorns,      ||
||  Violent Definition, et al.) as well as contributions from        ||
||  George Emmanuel (Lucifer’s Child) including both guitar and      ||
||  engineering/production. This team more-or-less carried through   ||
||  all of their work from 2019-2023 with the ‘Under His Sway‘       ||
||  (2020) EP speaking to what the two legendary folks had brought   ||
||  to other bands in the early-to-mid 90’s as well as heavy metal   ||
||  in general, a feeling which was amplified by their “The Red      ||
||  Crown Turns Black” song from a split with Kawir that same year.  ||

||  There was a lot of weight placed upon ‘As the Flame Withers‘     ||
||  (2021) to be the second coming, or, the return of classic        ||
||  Hellenic black metal as evidenced by the need for many critics   ||
||  to speak to the history involved but it wasn’t a nostalgic       ||
||  release… rather one from folks who’d never dropped their         ||
||  interest in black metal, or at least weren’t trying to relive    ||
||  the 90’s head-on. Brilliantly polished, driven by a steady       ||
||  rhythmic charge and a heavy metal gait Yoth Iria made the right  ||
||  choice in establishing themselves with their own sound which     ||
||  was adjacent to the old ways without pandering directly. If we   ||
||  must consider it contemporary black metal then well, either way  ||
||  the right feeling was there and their expectations were largely  ||
||  set skyward going forward and… despite the very different        ||
||  sounds explored on the 2023 EP ‘Flame of the Whirling Swords‘.   ||
||  Beyond that point the line-up of the band had changed to allow   ||
||  for live performances and fully flesh out touring ability        ||
||  and/or any demands made of ’em. This of course gives ‘Blazing    ||
||  Inferno‘ an entirely different feel and sound which is yet       ||
||  hi-fi and glorious in its rich, layered sound but also enriched  ||
||  with loftier dramatic tension.                                   ||

||  Taking the reigns of the old coffin spiritus. — While I will     ||
||  stop short of suggesting that ‘Blazing Inferno‘ sounds like      ||
||  Rotting Christ in its anthemic, intricately delivered melodic    ||
||  black metal style there is of course some relation via certain   ||
||  sensibilities that’ll allow for Yoth Iria‘s latest to inspire a  ||
||  similar fandom. The high standard of lead guitar melodies is a   ||
||  major contributor to this thought as both flourish and main      ||
||  driver for many of these songs lands upon sweetly arranged,      ||
||  sometimes rocking leads that give us a strong tinge of the old   ||
||  cult but from a sublimely polished, fully pro result.            ||
||  Opener/title track “Blazing Inferno” warms up the mind in this   ||
||  regard, down to the last palm mute they’ve delivered narrative   ||
||  and flexed a bit of their melodious muscle enough to cue the     ||
||  Hellenic black metal addicted mind into action. The slap right   ||
||  into “But Fear Not” and its sentimental lead might even sent     ||
||  the mind towards, eh, something like ‘Theogonia‘ for a moment    ||
||  once they’re hammering at full stampede (see also: “Purgatory    ||
||  Revolution”) but in no real way should anyone find the full      ||
||  breadth of Mutilator & co.’s songwriting plainly referential of  ||
||  the past. The engine is starting, all elements are firing up as  ||
||  some traditional instrumentation and additional vocals give      ||
||  some great mystic assurance to the devout. The spiritual         ||
||  quality of the music and a twist of nostalgia make the entryway  ||
||  into this realm particularly fascinating, redeeming as the       ||
||  product of a neatly stated compositional hand with a subtle      ||
||  touch.                                                           ||

||  “In the Tongue of Birds” is perhaps one of the finer singles to  ||
||  hit the melodic spectrum of black metal this year in terms of    ||
||  heavy metal/hard rock structured fanfare directing a dark metal  ||
||  sound. We cannot escape the glowing hands of Yoth Iria‘s touch   ||
||  which amplifies classic Greek black metal theatre into           ||
||  something larger than itself. It is also a chance to warm to     ||
||  and acknowledge the overall use of tension and worthy            ||
||  excitation, patience and immediacy employed in very simple ways  ||
||  on ‘Blazing Inferno‘ which warm to the listener to quite         ||
||  accessible melodic metal ideas. I’m not saying that this song    ||
||  is intentionally writ to amplify the bones of records like       ||
||  ‘Triarchy of the Lost Lovers‘, we’ve other more direct records   ||
||  that might fit better, but when we hit the ~2:34 minute mark it  ||
||  is as if these guitarists have unearthed an ancient scroll of    ||
||  knowledge (via a bit of palm muting) that lends a small but      ||
||  special moment among many; While the tone of this album remains  ||
||  consistent and directly set throughout this doesn’t hinder       ||
||  these details gathering in mind and adding weight to the larger  ||
||  experience. Side A generally gets this point across well at a    ||
||  consistent mid-paced clip delivering fairly straight forward     ||
||  pieces which balance referential techniques and melodic tics     ||
||  with sleekened presentation. It might not be as sinister, ugly   ||
||  or blazing fast as some die-hard Hellenic black metal minds      ||
||  would want but here we get something feasibly on the pro-level   ||
||  of nowadays Varathron and Rotting Christ.                        ||

||  Of course the pace eventually spikes here and there with the     ||
||  steady rise of “Mornings of the One Thousand Golds” being        ||
||  largely comprised of its epic build and escalating wah-pedal     ||
||  swelled core riff and trampling refrains. This helps the         ||
||  increasingly heady, distant thunder of Yoth Iria to not fade     ||
||  into sleep particularly as the rousing kick of “Our Father Rode  ||
||  Again His Ride” brings their melodramatic touch and some         ||
||  traditional heavy metal wheeling back into view, even resulting  ||
||  in some clean vocals which are especially effective. Again,      ||
||  these songs typically rise to a great point of reveal and make   ||
||  their point before quickly finding a way to sew up the wound,    ||
||  rather than repeat a chorus indefinitely or toss in a few more   ||
||  verses each song reaches its goal and steps away as soon as      ||
||  possible, often avoiding the need to play-out a song with a big  ||
||  guitar solo. While this keeps ‘Blazing Inferno’ at a taut and    ||
||  easily enjoyed ~37 minutes in length it does feel like they’ve   ||
||  chopped it a bit too tightly as the closing piece (“We Call      ||
||  Upon the Elements“) begins to soar with its triplet scraping     ||
||  roll, avoids forming much of a statement beyond the core lead    ||
||  guitar hook and one refrain, before simply chugging out and      ||
||  hitting “stop”. For all of the work put into building the        ||
||  return of these folks back in grand fashion, all of the          ||
||  dramatic fanfare that greets the ear to start, the endpoint      ||
||  here is anticlimactic to an unsatisfying degree. That said,      ||
||  they’d kept the energy up and the vision for the album reads as  ||
||  complete otherwise.                                              ||

||  Beyond the greater shape of ‘Blazing Inferno‘ and its steady     ||
||  yet subtly formed melodious energies Yoth Iria once again        ||
||  shares with us the wizened philosophy of Mutilator in both       ||
||  direct and indirect speech. What ultimately forms is a           ||
||  narrative which begins with an empyrean clash and eventually     ||
||  relays a series of mythological-level events which speak to      ||
||  freeing the self of that which controls you, be it religion or   ||
||  fear itself. Having my own formative experiences with black      ||
||  metal delving into his lyrics via other bands to me this is      ||
||  akin reading a favorite author decades later and finding those   ||
||  guiding principles, that voice upheld in righteous spirit. This  ||
||  in concurrence with the music itself of course speaks to both    ||
||  nostalgia and a sense of moderne refinements, creating a         ||
||  strangely easy record to fall into for hours at a time. With     ||
||  consideration for the cycle and running order itself the loop    ||
||  wasn’t always perfect when left on repeat yet I couldn’t deny    ||
||  that most every song on this album held its own in succession    ||
||  and when singled out piecemeal. Much in the way that the latest  ||
||  Deviser release felt like a collection of anthems, not all of    ||
||  which flowed from piece to piece, this experience feels like     ||
||  certain moments are clear single-worthy excursions whereas       ||
||  others provide the momentum the album needs to tarry on.         ||

||  Fine art direction, exceptional production values, a             ||
||  well-enriched sound per their quintet built line-up all speak    ||
||  to Yoth Iria confidently expanding in scale to suit their        ||
||  increasingly focused and artfully struck craft between           ||
||  hail-worthy tradition and a high modern standard for melodic     ||
||  black metal. ‘Blazing Inferno‘ offers more than a follow-up in   ||
||  this sense but rather a broader realization of potential likely  ||
||  to speak even more directly to the Hellenic black metal fandom   ||
||  at large while also offering something satisfyingly dark and     ||
||  meaningful for the elder guard. As a inordinate fan of this      ||
||  style of music this feels like a obscenely high standard set     ||
||  without any blandly obviate fanservice, the right balance of     ||
||  elements struck which allows the conviction behind the music to  ||
||  convey successfully on record. For my own taste it has been a    ||
||  steeling, inspiring experience to delve into thanks to is        ||
||  approachable and easily enjoyed effect and an album which only   ||
||  reinforces my faith in the old cult.                             ||