Artist: Tenebroso
Country: Brazil / Japan
Label: A Clockwork Apple Production
Formats: Split CD
Year: 2026
One of the latest additions in what seems to be an endless stream of Eternal Ice releases is this split CD with Tenebroso from Brazil, released through A Clockwork Apple Production in January of 2026. Tenebroso is a relatively new one-man act from Brazil that has spawned a good few releases in its first months of existence, but hasn’t reached these pages yet. So, here goes…
Although I wouldn’t claim to have heard all of Tenebroso’s material so far, it became clear right away that Despota had no means of trying to create something of his own. Instead, Tenebroso seems to be entirely based on the musical legacy of Drowning The Light. The similarities are all over the place, especially on the musical level, but even beyond that it is hard not to think of the Australian icon. If you take offence at overly obvious copycat behaviour, then it is advisable to give Tenebroso a wide berth. However, if that leaves you cold, then it is quite a nice band to listen to. The necessity for a band that literally adds nothing to the formula of another act is something you can question from the outset. Especially when it comes to a band like Drowning The Light, which adds to its already considerable discography with a fairly substantial expansion every year. Musically, it’s quite well put together and these two new songs certainly have their entertainment value, but they don’t (yet) reach the level of Drowning The Light.
The two Eternal Ice tracks do feel much more convincing after the Tenebroso side, if only because they convey a much stronger energy and have an overall louder sound. The two tracks do fit seamlessly within the Eternal Ice discography, which means that they are mainly riff- and drums-driven in a very traditional manner. If you have a soft spot for the sort of Black Metal that was en vogue around the early 00’s, this is a band that you should no longer ignore. It reminds me so much of the demos that I collected around these days: just basically everything that had a cool name or title. With its very prominent vocal delivery and deliciously raw production, Eternal Ice would have been well suited to those days in which long-forgotten bands like Gnostic was releasing their work, do you remember ‘Bloodwars Of Heretic Supremacy’ from 1999?
