As much as black metal has been inspired by environments here on Earth — be they frostbitten tundra, lush forests, or the peaks of mountains — an increasing number of acts have arisen to draw from the infinite well of the cosmos. After all, what’s colder and bleaker than the vacuum of space? Pioneering bands such as Darkspace, Mare Cognitum, and Spectral Lore have made a name for themselves within the atmospheric realm of black metal, but surely there’s more that can be done with a literally endless cosmic source of inspiration. The solar winds have brought to Earth Wyrgher and their sophomore album, whose thematic and lyrical concept revolves around dark, epic sci-fi of birth, destruction, and death; similar to what the subject details, Panspermic Warlords spreads its seed across all corners of the black metal spectrum. The result is an intricate, progressive black metal album fully up to the task of traversing such a grand and intergalactic topic.

As the title suggests Panspermic Warlords takes its inspiration from the concept of panspermia, the idea that life exists throughout the universe from a single origin and spread via celestial bodies and even spacecraft — here, the spread of life is facilitated by a warmongering alien species dooming its spawn to war and destruction. Wyrgher’s own origin lies in a place that totally took me by surprise upon listening to debut single “The Weeping of a Blazing Rock”; that of Swiss multi-instrumentalist Menetekel (Ungfell, Ateiggär, and more). Ungfell has been on my radar ever since their fantastic debut in 2017 and as good as that project is, I never would’ve expected the degree of songwriting and technical proficiency on display in Panspermic Warlords from the same musician behind that Walpurgis folk/black metal band — this just goes to show how Menetekel’s own musical progeny are spread far and wide within black metal itself.

“Dormant They Drift” hits with blast-driven fury right out the gate; dizzying dissonant riffs, cosmic leads, and deep reverb-laden growls form the core of the song, until fading into dark ambience after only a few minutes. After all, this is only the beginning of life spread across the universe. The essential sound of Panspermic Warlords remains dissonant, linear black metal that will surely appeal to fans of the Icelandic scene, yet the cosmic qualities remain throughout in the form of spacey leads and more bouts of dark ambience. The reoccurring horns on “Destroyer of the Promethean Path” are one of the coolest non-standard instrumental additions on the album, and somehow manage to convey a great sense of scale within the grander scheme of the universe.

Panspermic Warlords isn’t a progressive black metal album à la Enslaved or Ne Obliviscaris, but the constant shifting of riffs and tempos would easily qualify it as one in my book. There are three epics at the heart of the album that each push the 10-minute mark, yet despite the rapid changes of pace the blackened aspects are never sacrificed simply for the sake of being progressive — this is still black metal through and through, whether mid-tempo stomps or hyperspeed blast beats.

Perhaps I’ve got apocalyptic thoughts on the mind with the abysmal heat felt around the world, recent local fires, and having just seen the unleashing of humanity’s deadliest weapon through Oppenheimer, but Panspermic Warlords is the perfect soundtrack to predestined civilizational destruction. This isn’t a hopeful sci-fi tale about a bright future, but one of chaos and death. On top of that, it’s also a great black metal album. If previous incarnations of cosmic black metal weren’t your fancy, this album just might find another place to plant its seed within your mind.

— Colin

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Panspermic Warlords will be available July 28 on I, Voidhanger Records. For more information on Wyrgher, check out their Bandcamp page.