Artist: Misotheist
Country: Norway
Label: Terratur Possessions
Formats: LP / CD
Year: 2026
Ever since the Nidrosian Black Metal bands Mare, Kaosritual, Celestial Bloodshed and One Tail, One Head reignited the flame of Black Metal in Trondheim in the mid to late 00’s, the local scene has been brimming with rising talent. Misotheist, with their massive, dark and suffocating music, has been one of those torchbearers and their self-titled debut remains one of my favorite releases on the exquisite Terratur Possessions roster. With ‘De Pinte’, the band has already arrived at their fourth full-length album, an album that at the surface at least might appear a little bit different.
Gone are the sepia/grey covers of the past, traded in for a strikingly more colorful artwork. The album now bears a Norwegian title, translating to ‘The Tormented’, and contains a Norwegian track title, breaking with the tradition of English-only tracks and album titles thus far. And ‘De Pinte’ contains four tracks, while all previous albums consisted of three parts. In the end all these things are of course trivial, because what matters most is the music. And rest assured, in that regard this a Misotheist album through or through.
Musically speaking, ‘De Pinte’ is the logical continuation of ‘Vessels by Which the Devil is Made Flesh’ from 2024 and by extension the formula they set on with their very first release. As time has gone by, perhaps a part of the suffocating atmosphere has been molded slightly more towards the melancholic, but certainly the dark and eerie undertones have remained a constant. If anything, ‘De Pinte’ seems to set itself apart due to the flow of the album. More than ever, it feels as if the songs are meant to be connected, flowing naturally into each other, each telling a part of a four chapter tale.
That starts with ‘Unanswered Thrice’, the most straightforward track of the four. Threatening and churning and at times intense in pace, it is quite impenetrable and concealed. And that mood carries over in the subsequent ‘Blinded and Revealed’. But as the song progresses, the atmosphere opens slightly, allowing more melancholy to seep into the track. Towards the end things truly starts to unfold, with a mesmerizingly simple yet effective strumming melody that oozes a classical music quality placed upon a backdrop of intense drumming. It makes the ending rather spectacular, especially with the passionate vocals as a counterpart. The track smoothly transcends into what for me is the album highlight, ‘Kjetterdom’, which means something like ‘Heresy’. Slow, with a straightforward melody that slowly expands, the track remains in this lower echelons of pace with a strongly engrained sense of yearning and sadness. Again, the possessed vocals elevate the track to a higher level, a beautiful gloomy and enthralling atmosphere that eventually flows into the massive ‘De Pinte’. With over 21 minutes of playing time, Misotheist takes meticulous time to build, as the swelling keys and horns and eerie strumming set the early tone. The vocals dictate a change of threat, of pace, and inevitably there are furious outbursts often filled with a sense of dissonance. But the nuance in the riffs remains, carrying the dark brooding atmosphere forward while gently expanding over time. I’ll admit, about 15 minutes in I thought the band had crafted a perfect ending to the record after a harrowing escalation of riffs and a fascinating palm-muted passage. But to be fair, the extended sequence features a return to full pace and captivating new melodic ventures, making the final added minutes worth it.
‘De Pinte’ adds another level of sophistication to the music of Misotheist, further expanding their careful crafting of atmosphere that feels more unified throughout the album than ever before. The ending of ‘Blinded and Revealed’, the whole of ‘Kjetterdom’ and most of the title track show finesse in riffs, in slowly expanding them and twisting the atmosphere while retaining the aggression. From a musicality perspective, this is certainly the crowning jewel of the Misotheist discography thus far and the band remains on an exceptional level with ‘De Pinte’, both in terms of quality and in passion.
Yet, a feeling lingers, one that has been with me since ‘Vessels by Which the Devil is Made Flesh’. Despite this being everything I hope and expect from a Misotheist record, despite Misotheist crafting a splendid record that exceeds the vast majority of Black Metal being released today. Why can I not escape the thought that it does not manage to sweep me away the way that ‘Misotheist’ and ‘For the Glory of Your Redeemer’ did? I just miss that dark, choking sound, that catchiness in the riffs. When I think of Misotheist, it’s still ‘Beast and Soil’ and ‘Benefactor of Wounds’ that come to my mind. That doesn’t seem to have changed with ‘De Pinte’, even if this album musically is beyond that early work and I am glad have added it to my collection.
