Lvx Atra Aeterna

I am always happy whenever I discover another great band from my fantastic little home country Austria. While maybe not as prominent as other scenes there is a bunch of amazing and highly talented outfits that each fan of metal music should go and check out. Hailing from the (often) snowy mountains of Tyrol Portae Obscuritas are no exemption to this rule. Having been founded in 2007 it took them nearly a decade to release their full length debut and now they are back with “Lvx Atra Aeterna” on the great Swedish label Lamech Records.

Like it is the case with more or less each metal genre having its origins way back in the eighties and nineties there is little room left for innovation. There is a reason why some bands made big waves back then and have gained a lot of followers over the past decades. Portae Obscuritas are clever enough to pay tribute to some of the big names and chose a quite conservative approach of taking all the well-known single pieces putting them back together and enhancing them with a little bit of their own DNA to create something that sounds familiar but fresh at the same time.

The classic tremolo lines and blast-beat attacks are in full force and there are a lot of the typical epic and often melancholic melodies that we all know from the Scandinavian bands of the second wave of black metal. There are glimpses of the minimalistic and raw approach that used to define black metal in the very beginning but also some bits that have a more laid-back and less adventurous feeling. Some of the trademark chords even show nods to several death metal outputs with their stoic nature so the overall sound presents an highly entertaining mixture keeping the interest high over the whole running time.

The lead harmonies are always there in the background providing a lot of haunting harmonies and lending the whole music a sinister and moody overall feeling. Portae Obscuritas have put a lot of emphasis on creating an atmosphere that is eerie and dark yet has a certain kind of melancholic beauty. Pitched against the heavy riffs and the pummeling blast attacks those main themes give the record a very special character.

The production is powerful without sounding too modern or sterile. There is a certain level of rawness and filthiness left without sacrificing the clarity of the mix. Each instrument can be heard and even the bass gets a few moments to shine. Rounded off by hauling vocals and a nice looking cover artwork “Lvx Atra Aeterna” is an album that each black metal fan should have on his to-buy list or like the Tyroleans might say “Isch des bärig!”.