The closing days of a band are never anything to look forward to as it means the end of an era in the lives of multiple people and then end of a stream of enjoyment for many more. Ysengrin is an act that I truly wish wouldn’t come to a close, but sadly, they are in the process of their final work that will fall upon our skulls like a hammer far too soon. In that time, though, Ysengrin has taken the opportunity to pull from the past to offer us yet another taste of their unique power before they give us one last hurrah. Taking material from old demos and giving them a new coat of shine, it’s with “Réincrudation” that there’s over a new hour of reasons why this band will be sorely missed.

To be completely honest, I’ve not heard the original demo versions of all the songs that are featured on “Réincrudation” so I couldn’t tell you how different the new versions sound, but rest assured that in no way did Ysengrin ditch their fascinating, raw sound with this remaster so Ysengrin still sounds as though they were pulled from the floor of the underground world itself. That being said, it’d be a truly fucking shame if “Réincrudation” was left to rot on the floor like a forgotten rag for this collection is still as gripping, fierce, and genre-blending as you could ever ask for. While there’s still a core of death metal at play here, Ysengrin does everything in their power to explore what feels an incredible swathe of metal from golden years black metal to riffage pulled out of classic heavy and doom metal releases that all coalesce into a record that really grips you in an odd fashion that I can’t describe accurately enough so an attempt is all but futile. Every single piece has something to drool over and savor as even though this material is nine years old at this point, “Réincrudation” has allowed us to see this brilliant material in a new light as we see Ysengrin’s mastery over occult music in its full glory in each and every track that provides one morsel of excellence one at a time. The devotion to their craft and joy in experimentation really shows off their utter brilliance, and this whole album is one of the reasons why Ysengrin has and always will be one of those unsung gems of the underground that only the lucky will be able to experience.

I’ve been listening to this album for four hours at this point actively trying to find something to not like about it, but there’s nothing about “Réincrudation” that I can’t find simply infallible, and this is one of the few times that I’ve actually been able to say that truthfully. There’s not a single moment of this record that I find myself uninterested with what Ysengrin has crafted for us, and to see it be given a second chance with “Réincrudation” is an opportunity that I still find too good to be true and one that should not be passed up for any denizen of the underground that’s worth their own salt.

“Réincrudation” releases on March 22nd via I, Voidhanger Records!

LISTEN to advanced tracks from “Réincrudation” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Ysengrin on Facebook here.