Hierophant are a band from Italy that has had music reviewed before in this zine playing more of a mixture of blackened death and sludge metal and on this recording goes for more of a blackened death metal style and this is a review of their 2024 album "Gateway To The Abyss" which will be released in March by Dusktone Records.
A very distorted sound starts off the album along with some black metal screams a few seconds later which also takes the music into a heavier direction. When the music speeds up a great amount of tremolo picking and brutal blast b eats can also be heard and melodies are also added into some of the riffing.
Death metal growls are also a very huge part of the recording while the songs also add in a good mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts. When guitar solos and leads are utilized they are also done in more of a 90's style along with one track also bringing in a brief use of dark soundscapes and most of t he album focuses on a brutal direction, all of the musical instruments also have a very powerful sound to them and the last couple of tracks are also very long and epic in length.
On this recording Hierophant plays a style of blackened death metal that is very dark, brutal and aggressive sounding. The production sounds very professional while the lyrics cover Occultism, Anti Religion and Misanthropy themes.
In my opinion this is another great sounding recording from Hierophant and if you are a fan of blackened death metal, you should check out this live album. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Seeds Of Vengeance" and "Nemesis of thy Mortals". 8 out of 10.
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