Darkness gathers for this latest exercise of Rhodian black metal, with Μαρχωσιάς being the first SHAVALYOTH piece to feature a new drummer and vocalist alongside their two original members, and this expanding lineup is paralleled by the collective of infernal entities raised within. Synths intriguingly carry the essence of an otherworldly domain on “Ύμνος Στον Λύκο Της Αβύσσου (Hymn to the Wolf of the Abyss),” and its gates are fully opened as riffing and other elements are joined to the force of invocations, which are orated by another notable contributor, namely Apostate Archangel, of DRAKON HO MEGAS. Enchantment from this intro lingers among the gloom of a clean-stringed melody on “Μαρχωσιάς (Marchosias),” and ancient mystical auras heighten the atmosphere when a blast-beaten and raw tremolo attack commences. The structures here reflect a more direct and minimal songwriting approach, but with enough substance contained in the riffs to drive their energy onward, and that effect is also apparent in production shifts during chorus-like sections that amplify a different plane of distortion in the guitars.
The atmospheric immersion intensifies on “Βάαλ (Ο Βασιλεύς Της Κολάσεως) – Baal (The King of Hell),” where a bewitching symphony ascends toward grandiosity around the emerging metal compositions, and these soon take precedence with the allure of shadows emanating from heavy riff and tremolo forms. Vocals are also pronounced here as they reverberate through the depths of a conjured abyss, with guttural possessions incorporated among the grimness of their dominant rasps, and certain patterns effectively compound the slower rhythmic stride during other transitions. Multiple heavy and aural elements collide at those points, and the lead fret current imbued within is especially what marks them as evocative.
A piano interlude expands the aural dynamism of these hadean realms on “Σαμαηλ (Ο Πρίγκηψ Του Ερέβους) – Samael (The Prince of Erebus),” and its elegance heightens the darker shades returning spectrally amid ruinous riff masses. Dexterity is executed percussively as areas of groove and pummeling frenzy are connected by calculated fills, and their vehemence aligns with a triumphant quality rising in other tremolo courses, which then reach the cryptic tone of spoken parts signaling a vital conclusion. This concise grimoire leans more heavily into the atmospheric side of SHAVALYOTH’s craft, with a vast synth array cast among its arcane riffage, and though the effects of another lineup shift since its release remain to be seen, it may allude to where the band is headed and contains depth fitting its name after one of the underworld’s most elite beings.
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