Artist: Chamber Of Unlight
Country: Finland
Label: Werewolf Records
Formats: LP / CD
Year: 2026
That a new Chamber of Unlight album was inbound comes as no surprise, as the band already teased a new track in 2023 in the shape of the single ‘One with the Mind’. Regardless of whether you viewed it from the side of impatience or respect for the band taking their time to tune the skills of the bolstered line-up, here we are, three years later with the band’s second output, ‘Avernus’.
The accompanying biography states that this record is a relatively close follow-up to the band’s debut album ‘Realm of the Night’ and it’s very hard to disagree with that statement. Indeed it feels as if the band took the elements from the debut and sharpened them with the infusion of their new band members, growing from a three-piece to a six-headed beast (more on that in the review of said single). Perhaps the album reminds me less directly of the bands that released in the late 90’s on the Necropolis and No Fashion Records labels as that same text states, but I will hand it to them that a sense of Arckanum, Lord Belial and even Dawn can be heard in the riffs. Instead, for me the material seems primarily reminiscent of the early records of Emperor and Dimmu Borgir, and ‘Avernus’ particularly strikes me as a mix of ‘Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk’ and ‘Spiritual Black Dimensions’. It has the volatile aspect of both, with the increased complexity of riffs that Emperor introduced and the whistling cosmic keyboard sound and well-placed leads on that Dimmu Borgir album (give the track ‘Nightchasm a listen and you will know what I mean). What’s mostly left out on ‘Avernus’ however are the clean vocals of those two albums. That is, if you don’t count the folk-like chanting intro of ‘The Dagger’ and some powerfully spoken sections that certainly remind me of Shagrath’s style at times. A certain degree of bombast certainly cannot be denied, howeverm as is immediately on display in the catchy break rejoicing ‘One with the One’. But overall the band creates contrast and a sense of grandeur throughout their songs, often through dynamic changes of tempo and the delicately placed synthesizers and lead melodies.
There certainly hasn’t been a lack of Symphonic Black Metal bands of late, to a point where maybe the sharp edges of the genre are fading due to simple overcrowding. Chamber of Unight proves that there still is excellent material being released, providing a mix of fierceness, bombast, creativity and outstanding musicality on ‘Avernus’. It’s of those examples where the vastly experienced members not only know what they are doing, but their intent and devotion to their craft shines through in every possible way.
