“Where is the horse and the writer? Where is the ale horn that was blowing? They have passed like rain on the mountain, like wind in the meadow. The days of 2022 have gone down in the West behind AMG HQ into shadow. Who shall gather the smoke of the dead staffers burning? Or behold the flowing promos from the Sump returning? How did it come to this? Why is the Score Safety Counter bleeding? Welcome to the September Record(s) o’ the Month.” A sword day. A red day.
“Talk about making fans wait for a new album. Way, way back in 2014 I was gobsmacked by Severance, the sophomore release by Irish epic doom act Darkest Era. It had a near-perfect blend of doom, black, goth and Viking genres and felt like a heavy-duty emotional journey through dark, trying times. It stitched together the best parts of Primordial, Atlantean Kodex, Ereb Altor, and Iron Maiden to create an album grander than the sum of its parts. There was a brooding, melancholic beauty and power to it that few albums could equal. I was very anxious to get a followup, and nearly 8 long years later, it finally shows up.” Dark days.
