Artist: Clementis / Eternal Ice
Country: France / Japan
Label: A Clockwork Apple Production
Formats: Split CD
Year: 2026
The ever-prolific Japanese Black Metal duo known as Eternal Ice is back with a new split. This time on CD through A Clockwork Apple Productions, that already released the band’s split CD with Tenebroso from Brazil. The split partner of choice is Clementis from France, a one-man project that has released a handful of releases that were exclusively released in digital form, making this the first appearance on a proper physical format.
The Frenchman starts off with his contribution of a rather long intro and the only proper song. Together that still accounts for a playing time of over 8 minutes. But, without wanting to sound harsh or be unfair, I am very grateful it is only 8 minutes. This was already an ordeal to sit through. Obviously I don’t mind people making music and releasing it, but now that I’ve got this in front of me to review, I’ll have to be honest about it. Normally, when something isn’t quite right, I always try to mention something positive, but I’m really struggling to do that here. In fact, everything is well below par: the playing, the atmosphere, the vocals, the mix. There’s really no denying the amateurishness. This attempt to create a sort of Raw Black Metal has therefore failed miserably and reminds me of the worst bedroom demos I used to receive for review some 25 years ago. For that reason, I do not wish to venture any comparisons.
Eternal Ice, on the other hand, is just what they’ve been since day one: Eternal Ice. With already a respectable discography under their belts it is commendable that they have been so musically consistent. The well-crafted Black Metal with the typical loud vocals seemed to have progressed or developed practically zero. That means that if you have liked the band before, then this split CD might well win your approval too – the Eternal Ice part, that is. Although split releases are by no means a competition between the two, but if you have read the part above, it is self-explanatory that the Eternal Ice part is much better. However, a slight niggling doubt is beginning to creep in as to whether the Japanese band’s musical concept might be a bit too one-dimensional. For now, it’s still working and the riffs and atmosphere are still strong enough, but a feeling of ‘we’ve heard that before’ could well start to creep in at some point.
