Artist: Sempervirens
Country: USA
Label: Self-Released
Formats: Digital Demo
Year: 2025
Sempervirens, which loosely translates to “Evergreen”, was founded a few years ago as a duo with a seemingly aim to create some Black Metal that’s both raw and atmospheric. Yet, it only took off when vocalist Anton M joined the two last year. With that line-up and a session drummer, they recorded their first feat, a 2-track demo with the name ‘Sword Ferns’.
Having heard this demo a couple of times over the past few days, I can’t conclude anything different than that this is a strong start from a band that clearly has a strongly developed talent for both suspenseful song writing and mimicking their musical examples. It would really surprise me if the band would claim anything different from being inspired by the rising star of American indigenous and “safe space” Black Metal, Blackbraid. Like them, Sempervirens uses the same sort of grainy guitar tone and add multiple layers of it as the foundation of the music on which the same sort of almost static, up-beat drums are laid. Even Anton M sounds very much like Blackbraid’s Jon “Sgah’gahsowáh” Krieger.
It would be hypocritical to condemn a band to sound like another, we’ve covered loads of bands that built their whole identity on the classics of the first or second wave Black Metal. It was just a matter of time before the first bands would start surfacing that would jump this latest band wagon as well. But it is hard to deny that Sempervirens does an excellent job of achieving its objective. With a lot of dynamism in both the riffs, melodies, and rhythms, the trio manages to hold the listeners’ attention. Perhaps there’s zero originality and a bit pretentious, but who cares, ‘Sword Ferns’ is a very solid first introduction.
