VARGRAV "Dimension: Daemonium" LP

From the dawn of the classic debut album, Netherstorm, in 2018, Finland's VARGRAV have almost single-handedly reinvigorated the oft-maligned symphonic black metal subgenre. Forged in fires from the ancients - founder V-Khaoz's credentials are vast and stretch back decades - and stoking the embers last left by Obtained Enslavement and Norway's Covenant and Odium, VARGRAV's first two albums stand as proud pillars of shimmering, classics-based obsidian.

However, it was 2023's literally MASSIVE The Nighthold where VARGRAV eclipsed all prior achievements. With a lineup that included the notorious Graf Werwolf von Armageddon on vocals and Moonsorrow members Trollhorn of the Black Harvest on guitars/bass and Baron M. Tarwonen on drums, VARGRAV's swirling, cosmic surge hit a fever pitch of potency - and the filmic elements latent to their sound became a movie unto themselves. It was not unjust to liken this third album to Covenant's classic Nexus Polaris.

Now, as their second era continues unchained, VARGRAV return with their fourth full-length, Dimension: Daemonium. Tellingly titled, Dimension: Daemonium sees an extension of the cosmic surge that so marked its towering predecessor. Pared down to a duo of V-Khaoz and Werwolf, Dimension: Daemonium is likewise "only" 43 minutes, but it feels no less huge. Songs strike immediately and then stretch out, the clarity even more sparkling, imparting a unique juxtaposition between nasty execution and glimmering atmosphere. Indeed, those atmospheres arguably journey to dreamier locales, but ones blanketed in the dead chill of space. Because in space - or, perhaps, the sad realm of the stars - no one can hear you scream...

Furious yet finessed, breathtaking stained-glass visions stained with stardust shot from a black hole, and darkly dramatic as ever: VARGRAV cement their position as THE vanguard of symphonic black metal with Dimension: Daemonium!

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