Every genre of every type of music that has ever been has always garnered a select group of acts that know how to breathe life back into the style even for those who’ve been enjoying it for years. Black metal is exactly like that for me as every so often the scene will start to wear on me the tiniest bit, but right when I need it the cold winds deliver me an album that’s all but immaculate. Enter Evilfeast: the one-man band that’s everything a fan of black metal could ever fucking hope for.

Try to picture black metal the way it was back in the old school. I mean the old school. Like, Burzum old school. Then take that image, modernize it just slightly by bringing in better equipment and accessibility to different instruments and therefore different sounds. And finally but certainly not the least awesome part, take the brilliant and sometimes minimalistic atmosphere and toss that in with brilliant instrumentation for songs that commonly last longer than ten minutes. That’s everything Evilfeast has done with this brand new opus from the cold north, “Elegies of the Stellar Wind”. These six icy tracks are the exact type of thing that makes people view the old school very fondly. Evilfeast executes all the classic tropes with laser precision from the scathing riffs, immersive ambiance, heaps of variety and taste between songs, and then musical prowess that’s overflowing through every single piece of what “Elegies of the Stellar Wind” has to offer. It’s as if all the great black metal classics came together, sorted out the best parts of themselves, and made this stunning amalgamation that is no less than an absolute treat for black metal fans. It’s a beautiful representation of none other that black metal is far from producing excellent quality acts, and I’ve no doubt that Evilfeast has more than enough fuel to astonish us yet again. And that’s the sort of thing to get excited for, without a doubt.

“Elegies of the Stellar Wind” makes the end of 2017 feel like it’s the fucking 90s all over again. Extremely few albums, much less bands, are able to replicate such a thing. Yet, Evilfeast pulls it off masterfully well in a way that will take me more than several more listens to truly get a grasp of. Should you want something classic, ethereal, and ridiculously refreshing then look no further than this masterful album.

LISTEN to “Elegies of the Stellar Wind” on Bandcamp here.