More times than not, black metal is more known for its intensity and harsh nature above anything else and I think it’s very easy to see why that’s the case given the genre’s history and all that good stuff. But it’s thanks to styles such as atmospheric and post-black metal that we’re able to use another word to describe black metal: beautiful. Many purists would cringe and faint at such a thought, but I can’t get enough of how malleable black metal is as a whole and it’s thanks to bands like Unreqvited that we get astounding albums like this one.

When I first sat down to listen to this album, I truly was not expecting to hear what Unreqvited had created with “Mosaic I: l’amour et l’ardeur”. I was ready to hear some post-black metal with some blackgaze thrown in there because simply why the hell not, but Unreqvited quickly took that to a completely new level. With these five ethereal tracks, we see the post-metal take great dominance over the black metal to great effect but not without allowing a solid core of black metal to form, ensuring Unreqvited doesn’t look his way as a black metal act. In no shortage, “Mosaic I: l’amour et l’ardeur” is an extremely colorful experience that takes far more than a single listen to fully digest as there’s simply so much happening here. There’s so much personality and flavor being thrown around all over the place as one person somehow creates this gorgeous listen that really takes the idea of post-black metal into overdrive. We’ve seen plenty examples of different acts making black metal feel more accessible or even more emotive, but Unreqvited certainly claims the new territory as this record takes post-metal to new heights that many of us knew could be done but simply haven’t seen until now.

Despite post-black metal still being a somewhat “smaller” zone for black metal when compared to the rest of the different styles, there are so many wonderful acts that make great arguments to see why post-black metal can be so wondrous, and Unreqvited is easily one such act. In every form, “”Mosaic I: l’amour et l’ardeur” is a magnificent piece that’s best heard with a hot cup of coffee and gazing at the stars in all their glory as Unreqvited guides us through the cosmos.

“Mosaic I: l’amour et l’ardeur” releases on November 23rd via Northen Silence Productions!

LISTEN to “Mosaic I: l’amour et l’ardeur” on Bandcamp here.

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