Artist: Astral Bewitchment
Country: USA
Label: Nuclear War Now! Productions
Formats: Demo Tape
Year: 2025
Although this demo was already released in digital form in October 2025 through the artist’s Bandcamp page and a few months later also through the Bandcamp page of Nuclear War Now! Productions, ‘Of Evill Sorceries Done In New-England Of Daemons In No Humane Shape’ is still waiting for a physical treatment. Assuming that, at the time of writing, it could be released at any moment, we still have to deal with the digital version for now. Although that is not unusual, since many demos are (initially) only available digitally, it is a real shame in the case of Astral Bewitchment, because this mystical type of Black Metal is ideally suited to listening from cassette tape.
This American one-man project is jumping into an increasingly vibrant scene where the old Gods are being worshipped. A scene in which much revolves around ancient rituals, witchcraft, and forgotten pagan traditions. Over the past ten years or so, there has been a cautious upward trend in the number of bands embracing and reviving the old traditions of Black Metal from around the 1990s. Black Metal that is not influenced by Scandinavian bands, but rather by bands from warmer parts of the world. It is therefore difficult to imagine that Astral Bewitchment chose this name by accident, as it also appears as the title of a song on Mortuary Drape’s debut album.
This debut demo with the unusually long name can be found musically in exactly that field. You can throw equal parts Mortuary Drape, Necromantia, Varathron, Mystifier, and Xantotol into a blender, and chances are you’ll get this out. Although the riffs themselves are slightly sharper than average compared to the albums of the aforementioned bands, the overall atmosphere is similar. The mystical and ancient ambiance is what characterizes this nearly 17-minute demo. A subtle use of keyboards and a prominent role for the bass guitar is something we have heard before from Necromantia and the early work of Barathrum, for example. Here, the croaking vocals and sometimes ritualistic drums certainly add something extra, ensuring that Astral Bewitchment does not come across as a copycat, but rather forms a natural and sincere homage to all the greats of yesteryear with the use of all the familiar ingredients.
It goes without saying that this band fits perfectly into the aforementioned generation of bands with the same musically regressive ambitions, which are slowly but surely gaining popularity. Fans of Moonfall, Funerealm Gloom, Oath Of Malginancy, Nigromancer, and Forbidden Temple in particular will enjoy this demo. Now we just have to wait for the cassette tape edition.
