It must be something in the air, but I was not prepared for what 2025 had in store for us in ways of quality doom that does more than merely tap into its blackened reaches that offer nothing short of terrifying corruption and unyielding horror of all sorts. The return of acts like Lightless and Loathfinder have injected real intensity and quality into the sound that doesn’t get enough time to shine for all that it can bring to the table, yet it was in April that we saw Mizmor and Hell combine their forces yet again to offer us a visage of what the sound can still become in the hands of the extremely capable and depraved. It had been far too long since we heard new material from Hell, and I don’t think any of us were ready for the staple name to release its fifth album after eight long years.

There’s a good reason that Hell has become such a well-known name in this particularly dark corner of the metal underworld, and it’s in the whole of this new opus of maddening sorrow, “Submersus”, we see only the finest aspects of Hell return to us in such a form that feels downright exquisite from top to bottom. A horrific display of evocative insanity fueled by the deepest trenches of sorrow that leaves nothing to the imagination as the wailing of the soul is left to shape the work into something that’s as unrelenting as it is captivating to become lost within, it’s a real pleasure to witness Hell at the helm once again to show us what it can still throw down after an eight-year gap that left a gaping hole in the scene at large. “Submersus” scratches a menacing itch that few others can ever come close to achieving. Just as masterfully capable of seductive riffs alongside droning expanses that pull you ever deeper into its horrors that fold in upon themselves as well as the uncompromising brutality born of out the deepest, most primal suffering that soul could ever go through, it’s obvious around every turn of this tremendously dark piece that Hell knew precisely what it was doing right from the beginning. As sorrowful in its concepts as it is overwhelming in its punishing execution, “Submersus” practically has it all!

Given the sheer reputation that Hell has ascertained for itself over its nearly twenty-year run, a work like this should not come as a surprise yet there’s so much of this work that’s devilishly undeniable that one cannot help but be stricken with terrible awe at the mastery of this swirling effort that offers no reprieve, escape, nor salvation for any who venture into its ever-widening maw. “Submersus” demands your very soul should you hope to survive its depths. To do so is to surrender a piece of your very being in the hopes of understanding and becoming one with this unyielding madness, and Hell makes damn sure you will not come out the other side unscathed given this is an experience that you’re not easily going to forget.

“Submersus” releases on July 11th via Sentient Ruin Laboratories and Lower Your Head!

LISTEN to an advanced track from “Submersus” on Bandcamp here or via YouTube below.

LIKE Hell on Facebook here.