Artist: Storming
Country: USA
Label: Iron Bonehead Productions
Formats: LP / CD
Year: 2025
Iron Bonehead Productions announced ‘Celestial Clear Moonlit’ as the “highly anticipated” second album of this one-man Black Metal band from the USA. To be honest, I had completely missed that album and had no idea about the band before Iron Bonehead brought it to my attention. In my defence, it was released by the rather small and obscure First Spell Records from the USA, and looking at their roster I have to conclude that I am not familiar with any of their bands. Well, except for White Nights, that I only know by name because Iron Bonehead also is involved in some of their releases. But, I am always open to listen to something new and the cover art has something very captivating.
And, in order to start with a conclusion of sorts, the music fits the artwork pretty well. ‘Celestial Clear Moonlit’ is an album that combines rather European sounding Second Wave Black Metal with a bit of a Folk/Pagan touch to it, consequently making it sound even more Scandinavian/Nordic. At least, at first blush. Underneath the slightly atmospheric flow of the music is a rather significant punishing punky drive to it. It is the sort of bareboned framework that reminds of early to mid-era Akitsa that gives the music of Storming a rather distinct and, frankly, unique feeling. As if this album is the result of rehearsal session between Akitsa and Isengard on one side and early Borknagar and Ulver on the other.
The occasional clean humming folk-like vocals, that bear a undeniable resemblance with Isengard, strengthen the album’s strong heathen/pagan ambiance and offer a stark contrast with the otherwise quite rough vocals of Ratatosk. The rather lengthy tracks (except for one intermezzo all of them clocking around 10 minutes each) do add to the song’s overall epic grandeur and makes for a stronger comparison to the aforementioned Norwegian bands.
‘Celestial Clear Moonlit’ is epic, hypnotic and atmospheric, as well as elementary and layered. A rather sophisticated, yet very organic and natural sounding album. A strong recommendation for those who like their Black Metal both grand and basic, familiar and beguiling.
