Cold icewinds sweep my weightless body over the bridge to unknown lands. The fog was thick before me as I fell into the unknown realms. The darkness had fallen before me, as I saw my body fall into the ground. I am far away, I am far away from the sun… Beyond All Horizons features shorter reviews dedicated solely to black metal: a new release, an older album (a month, a year, a decade, or perhaps even longer), and a hand-picked track of the week.
This edition of Beyond All Horizons features some rapid-fire hymns of blackened fury; the sum of all the music covered doesn’t even add up to a full hour. First up is self-proclaimed “grinding melodic black death” from Sev Lezu, followed by the “tactical espionage black metal” of Lander. And lastly, there’s the “cosmic wisdom” from the first single off of Enslaved’s upcoming album, Mið… do you really think I would shy away from the opportunity to do yet another deep dive on a new track?
New & Trve: Sev Lezu — Blood Conscript
Dealing in speedy, vicious melodic black metal that hearkens back to the glory days of ‘90s Sweden, Blood Conscript is the debut from American power trio Sev Lezu. Masterminded by drummer/vocalist Sasha Stroud (Belexum, Onw), she’s joined by bassist FW (Manat) and (most notably) Melissa Moore (Sonja, Crossspitter) on guitar. Stroud’s venomous howls are the soul of the album, but the most memorable aspect across its 22 blistering minutes is Moore’s guitar playing. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s been done before, but I can’t recall ever hearing black metal played with such a distinct single-coil Telecaster sound. As annoying and overused as the phrase “black metal is just surf rock with distortion” may be (thanks guitar YouTube), on Blood Conscript the phrase almost applies… at least from a tonal standpoint. Listen only to the title track to get the best example of this in action, as the inherent twang causes every pluck of the pick to cut through the mix. Nimble technicality enhances this further, as Moore runs up and down the fretboard in almost exercise-like fashion throughout the album.
The “grinding” part of Sev Lezu’s self-description no doubt comes from the speed, intensity, and short length of each and every song; not counting two ambient tracks, all but one are between three and four minutes. Blood Conscript saves its best for last: album closer (and longest track) “Man’s Evil Gift”. If this were only played with the frigid guitar tone of the icy ‘90s, it could be right at home alongside any track on Sacramentum’s Far Away from the Sun… that’s about the highest praise I can give. A triumphant wall of chords serves both as the track’s chorus and melodic anchor, with Moore adding further single-coil wizardry that dances above the underlying rhythm like a horde of insects. It may only be 22 minutes long, but with how fast, furious, and addictive the sound of Blood Conscript is, you’re likely to just hit ‘repeat’ once it concludes all too soon. Moore sums up Sev Lezu best:
“Me and the dolls made real black metal. The rest can fuck off and burn in hellfire.”
Blood Conscript is available now through Ordovician Records. For more information on Sev Lezu, check out their Instagram page.
Old & Cold: Lander — Boreal Tactics
My most rewarding black metal finds of the year have been the works of Washington state’s Wergild collective, spurred on by Iron Firmament’s March release In the Land of Pre-Human Kings. While that band (and album) remains the best of what I’ve heard thus far, a close second is Lander and their full-length Boreal Tactics. The duo of Artificer (guitar, vox) and Krieger (drums) unleash a suffocatingly dense take on Wergild’s black metal with this album. They transform the mystic and fantastical into an atmosphere of anxiety and tension deep behind enemy lines, utilizing eerie modular synthesizers, flute stings, and more. As “The T.A.I.G.A. Incident” showcases, Artificer is an absolute riff master on this album. He draws from the early days of Wolves in the Throne Room, no doubt (sans nature worship and extended repetition), but even more so from Weakling. Taking inspiration from either of those bands is part and parcel of modern black metal, but Lander rise above their peers by crafting chunky, pseudo-death doom riffage not afraid to revel in rhythmic chugs as much as multilayered chord play. “Militia Obscura” and “Signal Jammer” throw me for a loop with more Hellenic riffing elements… trad metal flair and pinch harmonics, the latter in particular sounding like it could’ve come right from Varathron classic, His Majesty at the Swamp.
As with every other Wergild project I’ve heard him drum on, Krieger holds forward momentum with real precision and navigates tight grooves; the crisp drum production is a pleasure to hear. While gnarled riffs and impeccable pacing abound on Boreal Tactics, Artificer and Krieger have another weapon in their arsenal: “Mainframe – Heroes of Action”. This electronically focused track could’ve come straight out of a long-lost John Carpenter film depicting the exact type of tactical espionage the band themed this album around. Think Ennio Morricone’s legendary The Thing theme, but with a martial snare and bombastic guitar to back it up. A mood setter before the explosive firefight that is the title track, Boreal Tactics is an absolute thrill to listen to from its “Mission Briefing” start to the end credits of the “lost Carpenter” in closing instrumental “Black Medal”. It was just recently followed up with the shorter (and perhaps even more intense) Acid Jungle… more on Lander is sure to come during Album of the Year season.
Boreal Tactics is available through Wergild. For more information on Lander, check out their Bandcamp page.
Twilight Hour: Enslaved — “Solar Will”
In the biggest news of 2026 for me personally, a new Enslaved album is finally upon us! “Spirit Helper” will appear on the album but was initially a standalone track, which makes “Solar Will” the first official single off of the Norwegian legends’ seventeenth full-length, Mið. Getting this out of the way now so as not to taint my eventual review with such discussion: no, the album is not pronounced “mid.” I am pleasantly surprised to have seen relatively few jokes or derisive comments about this so far, though… perhaps the quality of “Solar Will” itself has already discouraged such talk. In English it’s pronounced “myth,” though this Old Norse word does indeed mean “the center/the middle.” As the band describes:
…we are reaching for the center of ourselves, a journey in all directions. It is also a play on the phonetic likeness the word “myth”, which is the language of this album. It sheds light on harmonies and dialogues embedded all around us: between the ways of the past, and how they can bring enlightenment to the present.
Never a band to shy away from a robust concept, these themes are exemplified in its refrain “the starlight at the center / the illuminated I.” This can be easily interpreted in two ways: Baldr’s role as the most beloved of the Aesir (the tale of his death alluded to with the lyrics “Release the poisonous arrow” and “No tears will fall from the jester’s eyes“), as well as the role each unique consciousness plays as the center of its own proverbial universe.
For my own mental health I’ll chalk it up Nuclear Blast/video production company decision, but it is certainly disappointing to see AI-created visuals in this… at least they aren’t as egregiously bad as that new Ministry video. In spite of that “Solar Well” is edited very well. I love the changing aspect ratios throughout the vid, especially the transition at around 2:40.
Musically, what else is there to say other than “Solar Will” fucking rocks?! From the opening groove of the primary riff, backed by Iver Sandøy’s persistent fills and Grutle Kjellson’s trademark roar, there is an electric, propulsive energy at play, carrying through right to the end of the song. The subtle acoustic guitar in the verses adds welcome texture, and I love the way Iver’s cleans mix with Grutle’s growls in the aforementioned refrain throughout the track. Enslaved are always pushing their sound toward new horizons, but there are undoubtedly comparisons to be made… my well-honed instincts lead me towards Utgard and tracks like “Homebound” and “Flight of Thought and Memory,” the latter invoked particularly in the pre-solo bridge.
If “Solar Will” has one criticism, it’s the absence of Håkon Vinje’s keys for the most part; hopefully this doesn’t bode the same for the rest of Mið. Despite this critique, the overall production package is airtight. Jens Bogren once again neglects to overproduce, letting every subtlety of their multifaceted sound through without sacrificing their heaviness and intensity in the process. It’s a tremendous track, and I’m happy to see it getting a lot of praise. We’re just under two months from the release of Mið, and my anticipation is already building to a fever pitch… I hope others are feeling close to the same. Stay tuned for more between now and then, as I refuse to shut up about how much my favorite band means to me. It sure helps when they continue to crush it after 35 years!
Mið will be available October 30 through Nuclear Blast. For more information on Enslaved, check out their official website.
— Colin
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