Artist: Warmoon Lord
Country: Finland
Label: Werewolf Records
Formats: LP / Cassette tape / CD
Year: 2025
While debut album ‘Burning Banners of the Funereal War’ certainly gained some traction in the underground, it was arguably their sophomore record ‘Battlespells’ that propelled the status of Finnish Black Metal band Warmoon Lord. And now the band revolving around Lord Vrăjitor is set to return with their latest full-length, ‘Sacrosanct Demonopathy’, due out in May 2025 on trusted companion Werewolf Records.
One of the appealing features of the previous material of the band was how Lord Vrăjitor combined the fierceness of Finnish Black Metal with elements from French, Polish and Norwegian Black Metal. In particular Graveland and the symphonic sound of Limbonic Art, Gehenna, Emperor, Obtained Enslavement and early Dimmu Borgir come to mind when listening back to ‘Battlespells’. On the latest album, this largely remains the same. But ‘Sacrosanct Demonopathy’ is far from a carbon copy of the previous records.
While the core is still ice cold and often rather epic Black Metal, the focus has shifted towards a more guitar-driven record. Yes, the symphonic keyboards are still very much part of Warmoon Lord, but the clearest difference with ‘Battlespells’ is that ‘Sacrosanct Demonopathy’ is much more riff-heavy and synthesizers play a more subdued part. Not only the number of riffs has changed, so has the complexity and how the songs are composed. The result is a much more whirling and brooding record, one that shows many multiple facets within the same song.
The best comparison to draw is the transition that Emperor and Obtained Enslavement underwent in their careers. With ‘Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk’ and ‘IX Equilibirum’, Emperor raised the standard for complexity within their compositions, and riffs in the vein of this period of Emperor can certainly be heard back on ‘Sacrosanct Demonopathy’. Similarly, Obtained Enslavement drove their music towards the more theatrical and bombastic as the progressed through their records, and there’s plenty of ‘Withcraft’ and ‘Soulblight’ to be enjoyed on the latest Warmoon Lord. However, the Finnish band very much remains itself. Never does Lord Vrăjitor push the bombast in the direction of Obtained Enslavement or his more theatrical outlet Argenthorns, and the often vicious pace keeps it removed from direction comparison with Emperor. With that tinge of Pagan spirit remaining, Warmoon Lord upholds the status they obtained on previous records with conviction.
As was the case on the previous albums, the intro song of the alnum is equally foreboding for what’s to come. ‘Warpoems & Tragedies’ starts the album off in a threatening manner with laryered and unpredictable riffs, where synthesizers only reveal themselves when things calm down. ‘Invoking the Retribution Eidolon’ then brings considerable pace and some Thrashy riffs. Dynamically shifting, the song contains plenty on inner turmoil and unexpected turns. But with multiple listens the chaos subsides, and the layers are easier to dissect, and the epic character of Warmoon Lord reveals itself. Clear is that Lord Vrăjitor’s vocals have never sounded this possessed and diverse, fitting with the more complex nature of the material. A track like ‘A Hungering Yoke’ is clearly a bit more theatrical and bombastic, and especially the massive sounding end is impressive. ‘Tartaros Offering’ is driven by double guitar layers, where the uptempo riffs are changing pattern and pace. Contradiction is key here, and the song is one of the most unpredictable on the record. A song like ‘His Enigmatic Ways’ is probably closest to ‘Battlespells’, furious, melodic but also epic and harmonious and perhaps slightly less shifting in nature. ‘Daemonic Supremacy Enthroned’ is threatening and sliding, whirling and meandering in eerie melodies like Emperor or some of the Limbonic Art work, but also catchy and epic in its final melodies.
‘Sacrosanct Demonopathy’ is very much in line with the previous Warmoon Lord work, but as a whole is a more diversely shifting album. While Influences from Graveland, Dimmu Borgir and Limbonic Art remain obvious, it’s mostly the likeness to later Obtained Enslavement and Emperor albums that stands out. Perhaps more in spirit as these all come mixed with the typical blistering pace, fierce shrieks and epic undertone of Warmoon Lord. With those rather volatile dynamics, this latest Warmoon Lord album gives a slightly more impenetrable listening experience at first. While the riffs are catchy and click, the shapeshifting nature of the music might take a bit more effort to fully dive into. But once fully absorbed, at the end of the road this is another splendid and downright intriguing record that is certain to propel itself to my favourite records of the year.
