Medieval Dark Arts

Mark my words: Blood Magic will be the next Lamp of Murmuur.

That’s not to say that their style is anything like LoM’s; it isn’t. However, the mystery of their identity coupled with their steadfast devotion to obscurity and (of course) their absolutely top-tier music will surely make them a point of interest for anybody invested in USBM. Already their demos are fetching absurd prices on resale sites, and there’s a good reason it’s already been reissued several times after its initial release (I was fortunate enough to pick up a Black Gangrene-issued CD, having missed both Spiritual Disease tape presses).

The band’s raw, ultra-lo-fi black metal is excellently juxtaposed against their equally lo-fi dungeon synth interludes; everything about this demo sounds like it was recorded to a cassette 4-track in someone’s garage. The drums are performed with an unmatched fury, and the guitars - while primitive - bear exactly the right kind of high-treble fuzz needed for the vicious chromatic riffs. Of particular note are the positively vile vocals, which sound like they must have genuinely hurt to record.

Medieval Dark Arts’ greatest asset, however, may actually be its length - in an age of 6-10 minute Bandcamp-only demos, Blood Magic has delivered their curse in the form of an album-length demo that seems to pulse with the very arcana for which the band is named. Truly a band worthy of the highest praise.

Full support to Blood Magic, hail USBM!