To see any sort of band constantly release new material whether it be on a solid two-year cycle, one piece each year, or even multiple releases in any given year almost always makes me concerned about the overall quality. At some point, it tends to be that if the material being made isn’t given the proper amount of time, no matter how much there is it won’t sound good when it’s released. I remember diving into Nebula Orionis at the start of the year, and it’s now near the end of it that this absolute unit of a man has dished out his fourth offering in 2019, and to say that quality is far from an issue would be a true understatement.

I had sat down and listened to everything that Nebula Orionis has presented us with throughout this year, and the only reasons I hadn’t covered the other works like “Ashes” or “To Keep the Flame Burning” were based out of both pure forgetfulness and the fact that 2019 has been absolutely jam-packed with so much that demands to be listened to. But, even just the first track from “Plague” told me that no matter what I had to review this piece. It is everything I’ve ever come to desire out of anything that can be considered cosmic black metal as well as giving to me something that I never knew I needed so much: instrumental black metal. Sure, it’s been a thing for a while but very rarely do we see it and it’s even rarer that we get it in such undeniable quality like what we get with “Plague”, and there isn’t a single song throughout this work that I would dare change in any sort of form. Nebula Orionis has found the perfect blend of cosmic wonder and tranquility such that even when paired with the perfectly conduct black metal, it creates a gorgeous blend that’s all but awe-inspiring as each track has loads of hypnotic melodies to call its own with the whole of “Plague” being one awesome lesson in pristine atmospheric black metal on a grand scale the likes of which I haven’t seen in years.

There isn’t a single speck of what’s been crafted here with “Plague” that isn’t nigh on intoxicating and anyone who would dare to say that this work is anything but something to behold, then they are missing out on an experience that very few other bands have come to equal. Nebula Orionis has been on an absolute streak this year, and should this be the final release we’re to see from him in 2019 then I couldn’t think of a better album to exit the year on.

LISTEN to “Plague” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Nebula Orionis on Facebook here.