Album Review: Eminentia Tenebris - Whispers of the Undying
Reviewed by Dan Barnes
Le Mans based one-man atmospheric black metal project, Eminentia Tenebris is set to release its fourth album, Whispers of the Undying at the beginning of July, the continuation of sole-member Cyro’s flurry of activity since the 2020 issuing of the debut, Whirlwind of Dark Times.
For this new record Cyro has recruited assistance from vocalist Erroiak – whose own Echoes from the Dark Lands album of Summoning covers was released in January – while Daeris handled the lyrics which tells tales of an ancient and war-ravaged universe.
Brief instrumental introduction, Forever Etched, lands with the instant fury of Emperor’s bombastic majesty and should be seen as something of an overture for the musical journey ahead. Echoes of Triumph is a continuation of those themes, introducing horns and additional instrumentation into the mix, all the while drums blast and guitars rage.
The sound is thick and the production is crisp, walking the line between lush saturation and darkly satisfying riffs to maintain a melodic balance. The Great Betrayal is orchestrated and enormous, dense yet some of the most accessible black metal this side of Dimmu; filled with slower harmonies and classical instrumentation, it’s a wall of sound that, to this point, offers little in the field of variety.
Thankfully Whispers of the Unholy has something of a shift of gears at the mid-point with Beneath the Moon, whose acoustic guitar introduction leads to some of the rawest music on the record. It incorporates the accoutrements without sacrificing the darkness and chilled atmosphere of a latter-era Gorgoroth album. A later Embers of Glory serves a similar purpose, giving respite from the blasting percussion in favour of an oozing menace, a spoken word element and maybe even a folk feel.
Without these two tracks to acts as a firewall, Whispers… would have risked being considered one-dimensional, but with them it allows Cyro and company to indulge themselves on Through Chaos and Shadow’s fat Wolves in the Throne Rooms sound, or the unmistakably poppy moments on both Marching As One and Time’s Cold Reign closing duo.
Not a hint of Mr Satan is mentioned throughout the record, as Eminentia Tenebris looks to that other black metal trope of land and history to tell their story of valour on ancient and wintery battlefields.
There is a distinct narrative being given here and, even without the lyrics, some familiarity with Vladamir Propp and Joseph Cambell and a glance at the track-list tells me this is a tale of heroism, betrayal and redemption, set within a vicious past.
Short and punchy, Whispers of the Undying’s brevity manages to mitigate the lack of variety through a balance of the bombastic and the raw. An enjoyable listen nevertheless.
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