Artist: Smyrtonos
Country: Bulgaria
Label: Self-Released
Formats: Digital EP
Year: 2024
Hot on the heals of this project’s debut full-length, not even released a month ago, the ever restless Todorac returns with a new Smyrtonos recording. This time a new 20+ minute EP in the form of ‘Cast Into Outer Darkness’ which largely follows the musical path of the preceding debut album. So yet again, we are treated on some well-crafted, captivating Raw Black Metal.
Compared to ‘Misanthropic Flame Of Black Devotion’ the overall sound is a tad more oppressed and even a bit rawer, but it is sure that with every subsequent release Todorac improves his art. Every new releases shows the man’s ability to further refine and perfect his vision on the Black Metal genre. That mostly consists out of the classic Raw Black Metal building blocks, but with enough melody and Folk-inspired interludes to allow the music to purvey a thoroughly organic grandeur. Such is also the case with ‘Cast Into Outer Darkness’, an EP that once again shows the best side of the musician in charge.
The dynamics in the music are ever-increasing, something that adds to the memorability by leaps and bounds. And although it features calm strumming and mesmerising melodies, the lion’s share of the music is still riff-driven. The balance between those two essential musical elements of the Smyrtonos formula means that the overall result exudes a great 90’s Scandinavian character.
‘Cast Into Outer Darkness’ is definitely another great addition to the ever-expanding Smyrtonos discography, and indeed a true testament to Todorac’s admirable song writing capacity.
