I absolutely love coming back around to bands that I came across years ago but virtually forgot all about for one reason or another. With the amount of music I listen to and with my taste really shifting and becoming more defined over the last few years, a lot of stuff falls through the cracks in my memory. However, Dalkhu was a name I vividly remembered and have been meaning to return to. But with their upcoming album on the horizon, I figured where else to go but there? What I was greeted with was more than anything I could’ve asked for.
It was about three years ago that Dalkhu first crossed my path and really astounded me at the time with their variety of black metal that I was still very new to, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Years later and coming into contact with hundreds of more examples of black metal, my return to the dark entity of Dalkhu was something that I hadn’t planned in the slightest but I figured why the hell not? I wanted to see if my memory of Dalkhu lived up to their newest creation, and the entirety of “Lamentation and Ardent Fire” kicks it right in the ass at every single possible turn. With seven fiery tracks to toss around, Dalkhu wastes no time with this new album as it’s a real tour de force of black metal mixed with many different elements to keep things interesting. Be it invoking a heavy sense of melody, bringing in some kickass riffs to really get you going, or even some clean vocals that truly come out of nowhere but work wondrously, Dalkhu brings together several different things that truly elevates “Lamentation and Ardent Fire” to something much more than just your run-of-the-mill black metal act. Dalkhu undoubtedly knows how to keep the listener’s attention while stylistically keeping true to the classic feel of black metal while constantly taking steps forward to make “Lamentation and Ardent Fire” modern in tasteful amounts at the most opportune times.
With over fifteen years of existence under their belts, I would certainly hope that Dalkhu knows how to dish out some venomous black metal and that is on full display with the firestorm that is this record. From top to bottom, “Lamentation and Ardent Fire” is a breath of fresh air yet a real callback for black metal in ways that extremely few bands are able to echo in the smallest amounts much less replicate for the entirety of an album.
“Lamentation and Ardent Fire” releases on September 17th via Godz ov War Productions!
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