Pestilent Hex are a black metal band from Finland and this is their second album.
After 2022’s enjoyable The Ashen Abhorrence, Pestilent Hex have now returned with the 46-minute Sorceries of Sanguine & Shadow.
Pestilent Hex play symphonic black metal influenced by the classic 90s style, and Sorceries of Sanguine & Shadow sees the band taking their art to the next level. A simple overall description of Sorceries of Sanguine & Shadow is that it balances atmosphere and aggression via the medium of symphonic black metal. It’s old-school, recalling bands such as Emperor and Dimmu Borgir, but also has a contemporary flavour too.
The music is intricate and cloaked in darkness. The symphonic aspects are layered atop the rest of the music, providing a shrouded enrichment, but without becoming ostentatious. These new songs deliver furious riffs, scathing screams, and symphonic grandeur. It’s an old style, but a very engaging one. Just one listen to a track like opening song Sciomancy and Sortilege as it explodes in a flurry of cold aggressive guitars and you’re hooked. All of the songs have their own character though within the music’s framework, and I’ll mention A Spectral Voyage as being another strong one. The album culminates in the epic Sanguine Gnosis, which is probably the best song here.
Pestilent Hex continue to refine their craft, and Sorceries of Sanguine & Shadow is another step along their journey to mastery. It offers an enjoyable journey into darkness, played with competence and skill.
Highly recommended.
Wonderbox Metal 