Erythrite Throne Performs Analog Necromancy In The Age Of Medieval Sorcery

To say that Erythrite Throne has been prolific is an understatement. Since We Sleep Forever In Decay saw its release in October of 2018, another 23 releases have been conjured up from the black soil of Ontario that sole member Wyrm calls home. Erythrite Throne’s brand of dark dungeon music is black, vampiric, and steeped in nervous textures. Wrought Records, purveyors of dungeon synth and black metal from the likes of lauded contemporary acts like Redhorn Gate and Grimdor, are set to release In The Age Of Medieval Sorcery, Erythrite Throne’s 25th offering, on May 7th. 

In The Age Of Medieval Sorcery is something of a milestone in the Erythrite Throne catalog as it is their first album recorded directly to tape. That’s right, 25 releases in and Wyrm has decided to lower their production value. What else is to be expected from a black ambient titan? There is no editing or refining on this obsidian slab, but worry not,  it’s hewn by a deft hand.

You won’t find many mistakes here and the audio anomalies fit the atmosphere as well as the constant tape hiss that pads the background like fog rolling across the floor of a crypt. This is a journey through black, forested night, up the stairs of rotting towers, and into the depths of long-forgotten tombs. There is no light here. Melodies that could be thoughtful or nostalgic beneath other’s fingertips are wreathed in necromantic ice when played by Wyrm.

Crowned by a brutal, dark fantasy cover drawn by Peruvian artist Artem Astaroth, this album is ten tracks of bleak, old-school dungeon synth. Songs like “Casting Forbidden Spells” and “Hymn To Uldor” march into funereal realms, backed by haunted, fatalistic drums. “Standing At The Gates Of Mourning” is pure vam- excuse me, wampyric blackness. The pace quickens on songs like “Barbaric Chants”, where drums drive the listener deeper into the pit of subterranean night that this album works to build. In a collection of songs that by design and method pay reverence to the old ways

“The Lich’s Cauldron” feels like the most traditional track to my ear, but there is the ever-present and razor-sharp lead that is Erythrite Throne’s signature; a sound utterly devoid of warmth, menacing and cruel and mournful all at once. My favorite track on this album, which is no easy task to call, must be “Awakened From The Dreamless Sleep”. A gentler track, marked by the most instability in the recording media thus far and highlighted by an atypical woodwind lead. We begin to see a brief reprieve from the cold here, as this track leads into “Forests of Dusk”, a beautiful ode to the woodlands complete with birdsong and stunning piano work. These tracks are merely a ruse, however, lulling us into a false serenity. Our final track, “Beheading The Great Wizard” is a barbaric, doom-laden dirge that seals the crypt door and leaves us in black solitude forever. Or at least until the next Erythrite Throne release. Don’t worry, that’s probably not too far away. 

This album gets a 9/10 on the Madness Meter. 

Pick this up on tape from Wrought Records on May 7th and check out Erythrite Throne’s full discography on Bandcamp.

Wrought Records: https://wroughtrecords.bandcamp.com/

Erythrite Throne: https://erythritethrone.bandcamp.com/