We’re all familiar with black metal bands that try to incorporate some kind of atmosphere into their work. Whether you’re new to the genre to a decades-old resident, you’ve seen more than your fair share of atmosphere done to all sorts of levels of success with the victories of such instantly making their impact known with the genuinely exceptional performances few and far between. When such material of the latter comes around, it really captures both the imagination and the soul in such a way that is no less than mesmerizing in every aspect. Having been around for eight years, Scáth Na Déithe is no stranger to the scene, but with their fresh third full-length, I can’t help but feel like we’re granted an experience that is nigh on exquisite.

It can be hard enough for any band to bring forth its own sense of atmosphere such that its impact is felt to the core and not viewed as some add-on that was a clearly failed attempt at bringing forth some flavor. However, it’s in the very moment you step foot into “Virulent Providence” that it becomes very apparent Scáth Na Déithe knows precisely what they’re going for and how to get it done to a vicious degree of efficiency, never once lacking in splendor and evisceration. Consisting of two parts for a combined journey of forty minutes, the absolute whirlwind of “Virulent Providence” is one that you must fully surrender yourself to in order for you come even close to claiming that you experienced even a small portion of what Scáth Na Déithe has delivered here given how dense and layered the album is in every aspect with each subsequent listen offering new visages, new secrets, and more reasons to keep crawling back to bask in the raw glory of what has been accomplished here. The sheer grandeur of this record is something that is sure to come across to many as a standout performance that needs to be investigated, and I’m inclined to say the same thing. Everything that has been brought forth in order to make “Virulent Providence” the undeniable monolith that it is from top to bottom is what we all look for when it comes to fresh greatness out there in the dense underground that can seem damn near impenetrable in time with only the most versatile and powerful able to climb in any form to show us what they’re made of. Given what Scáth Na Déithe has done here, I’ve no doubt that we can expect great things to follow after “Virulent Providence”.

Ireland has slowly been cultivating a scene that has become nothing to ignore in any of its metal aspects with its doom some of my favorites in the entire world, the death metal nothing short of promising, and the black metal naught but magnificent with bands like Scáth Na Déithe keeping things not just fresh but viciously interesting. As mystical as it is haunting, entrancing as it is punishing, and unyielding as it is wondrous, “Virulent Providence” demands to be seen as a wild victory for both Scáth Na Déithe and the scene from which they spawned from.

LISTEN to “Virulent Providence” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Scáth Na Déithe on Facebook here.