Whenever a band I enjoy is forthcoming with a change in style — especially when the former sound may have been deserving of further exploration — I’m often left with some trepidation. Stylistic transformations don’t always work, and are a surefire way to alienate a carefully cultivated listener base. Promising a departure from the pagan/folk-inspired sound of their debut, Armenian act Ildaruni have been rebirthed in Mithraic blood and fire; plunging further into the depths of relentless black metal and melding it with archaic mysticism, they have forged a fantastic sophomore album with Divinum Sanguinem.
Just as their music has moved on from the highly melodic, folk-instrument laden hymns of 2021 debut Beyond Unseen Gateways and its depictions of the ancient proto-Armenian Urartian kingdom, so too have Ildaruni changed the focus of their guiding concept. Divinum Sanguinem takes its inspiration from Mithraism, a practice that could trace its history through 15th century BCE Indo-Iranians, Achaemenid kings, and lastly as a Roman cult religion that flourished in Anatolia from the 2nd – 4th centuries CE before being squeezed out by Christianity; safe to say it’s a suitable candidate for a genre that prides itself on Christian persecution (although the band do not wallow in this fact, instead focusing on the rites and mythology of the religion itself).
From eerie intro “Mithras Alone Is My Wreath” all the way through to the closing title track, Ildaruni do a tremendous job creating an ominous, epic ambiance through ferocious black metal in addition to more atmospheric elements; choral vocals, ritualistic chants, and brief moments of traditional instrumentation (bagpipes, qanun). There was no better introduction to the newfound sound of Divinum Sanguinem than first single “Of Nomos and Flaming Flint Stone” and its Nightside Eclipse-evoking (real) choir, chords as dark as they are heavy, and a vastly improved performance from drummer Arthur Poghosyan. My main criticism of Beyond Unseen Gateways was that the sound could occasionally feel emptier than it really was, especially during extended single note trem-picking. In these moments the drums were a bit too simple, the backing chords lacking… there was a lag in energy that brought the whole package down (production being a factor as well). The arrangements and production of Divinum Sanguinem seem to have completely read my mind; even on a less-exciting track such as “Immersion into Empyrean” there is a greater cohesion between lead and rhythm guitars, and the drumming is consistently locked in.
While Divinum Sanguinem is certainly not a blackened death metal record itself, I’m reminded of Behemoth’s The Satanist in the manner by which music, atmosphere, and concept become one. If artwork can make or break a concept, this album passes with flying colors. The core mythos of Mithraism is brought to life visually in the album art depicting sun god Mithras slitting the throat of a cosmic bull, an act that results in not only the creation of the earth and all life through his spilled blood but the beginning of the struggle between good and evil — both physically and within man — as dark creatures awake from below. This sacrifice was said to have taken place in a cave, and Mithraic sanctuaries were constructed in subterranean caverns. The overall production of the album lends itself highly to this, feeling cavernous not in the death doom sense but something more grandiose; booming drums and lanterns of melodic light guiding the way through the blackened darkness.
Ominous and more straightforwardly within the black metal realm as Divinum Sanguinem may be, Ildaruni have not entirely abandoned their old melodicism. Instead they invert it to serve darker means as melodic lines that take clear inspiration from Hellenic black metal acts such as Rotting Christ and Yoth Iria and extended, fluid solos intertwine with grandiose chords. The band similarly incorporate some of the blackened heavy metal-isms that characterize the Hellenic scene in moments like the fist-pumping finales of “The Ascension of Kosmokrator” and “Scorching Ways to Samachi” or the palm-muted chugging of “Forged with Glaive and Blood” (soon elevated by blast beats and shouts in Armenian). Funnily enough Mithraism is said to have not taken root as strongly in the Greek world due to its association with their historical Persian enemies; who could’ve guessed centuries later a group of Armenians would bring the two full circle in a black metal record?
Departing from the folk-inspired sound of their debut has proven to be the best choice Ildaruni could’ve made in their ongoing musical journey. Expertly coupling a mystical, unfamiliar theme with an occult black metal atmosphere to match, this is the caliber of release that has put lesser bands on the greater metal map. Those who seek the divine majesty that black metal is capable of conjuring will surely find in Divinum Sanguinem a worthy experience, one that has rapidly climbed my own list of the best albums 2025 has offered (a very crowded field!). Nama Coracibus tutela Mercurii! Divinum sanguinem! Hail the ieros koras!
— Colin
Divinum Sanguinem will be available November 7 through Black Lion Records. For more information on Ildaruni, check out their Facebook and Instagram pages.