In no small way, folk metal is likely always going to be a sound that oftentimes feels unpopulated. It can be months between instances of real talent showing us what can still be done in the sound with it almost always being a showcasing that demands attention when it’s all crafted by the hands of the focused and ambitious. It’s already in 2025 that we’ve seen quite a bit of exceptional folk metal from the likes of Saor, Ade, and Soltur showing us why they’re to be respected, but it’s now Erocis’s turn in the spotlight for it’s with their first full-length album that we bear witness to the makings of greatness in the genre.

While I’ve never been one to shy away from the fact that I have an arbitrarily high bar from anything that’s related to folk metal, it is still important to keep an open mind and allow new things time to take form when dealing in a sound like this. It wasn’t before tonight that I had heard of Erocis in any form, and it is now that I find myself wishing I had sooner even if the band has only been dealing out music for a handful of years. With that in mind, the sheer quality and breadth of magnificence that’s to be found within “The Sunken Lands” is made all the more fascinating. Much is achieved within these eleven pieces that more than earn the right to be deemed as truly epic. A captivating tale of dragon slaying, a gods-chosen hero, a sword of legend, and adventure that’s befitting of such a high fantasy backdrop, Erocis aimed for the stars with this album, and it demands to be made clear that they exceeded any and every goal they may have had during the crafting of this riveting record. “The Sunken Lands” is supremely confident with its ebbs and flows, ups and downs that are all orchestrated by more than enough knowledge of what it means to navigate folk metal of this variety with real mastery. Where many have tried, Erocis succeeds wildly with the aptitude of veterans who have been laying down glory for years.

If this isn’t a sign of the future excellence that’s to come from Erocis then I know not what quality is. Every given morsel of this absolutely delectable album lends to the fact that this is a band that already knows what it’s doing on an extremely intimate level with the execution nigh on fascinating to become lost within. “The Sunken Lands” have much to discover within, yet I cannot help but feel as though this is but among the first of many journeys that Erocis will beckon us to take.

LISTEN to “The Sunken Lands” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Erocis on Facebook here.

FOLLOW Erocis on Instagram here.