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.
Looks like I haven’t done one of these in over two months… unfortunately life has been leaving me with very little downtime, so all the reviewing energy has had to be spent on incredible albums like Mið and Tronen. This will probably be my last edition of Beyond All Horizons for its inaugural year, but to cap 2026 off we’ve got some great black metal in store! First up is the ripping new full-length from melodic black act The Mosaic Window, then we take things back to 1994 with the first demo from long-defunct December Wolves before wrapping things up in the present with a track from pagan standouts Paara.
New & Trve: The Mosaic Window — Answered Prayers
Answered Prayers is the third full-length from Los Angeles solo act The Mosaic Window and marks the act’s debut on Vesperian, joining such esteemed artists as Stormkeep, Wayfarer, Dreadnought, and more. I’ve been following Andrew Brown’s work with The Mosaic Window for over three years now, and it’s been great to see a local(ish) musician not just keep rising through the ranks of the metal world, but also get better and better as time goes on. With Answered Prayers Brown dials back on the melodic death influence that littered earlier works, instead focusing on the blackened side of The Mosaic Window’s ever-evolving sound. He runs the gamut of second wave-influenced riffing on tracks like “Serpentine”; savage trills, fretboard-spanning walls of chords, and “Loss and Curse of Reverence”-styled harmonics.
Black metal would not exist without — and has long been championed by — those who aren’t exactly the most virtuosic on their instruments. But listening to The Mosaic Window it’s clear that Brown is both a dedicated and talented musician; it’s great to hear black metal created by someone who knows their craft well, especially across multiple genres. “What Sage Could Not Cleanse” is perhaps the most death metal-inspired track on the album, inflecting Black Dahlia-styled post-Gothenburg riffing alongside some glorious guitar harmonies. Brown is also ready and willing to show off his soloing chops on standout “Lightning Be Thy Guide” as emotive phrasing, tasteful shreds, and even a kill switch add to a song already dripping with mournful melodicism. Yet another great album from a modern black metal act you should be keeping a keen eye on.
Answered Prayers will be available November 13 through Vesperian and Metal Blade Records.
Old & Cold: December Wolves — Wolftread
I’m not going to pretend like I’m an expert on the early years of USBM, but I think it’s safe to say that Wolftread is a far cry from the likes of Von, Profanatica, Demoncy, and Absu. The first demo from December Wolves sounds like it should’ve come from Norway as opposed to Boston; this is folk-tinged black metal very much in the vein of Satyricon’s Dark Medieval Times, Enslaved’s Vikingligr veldi, and Hades’ …Again Shall Be. Following the simple (yet charming) synths of the intro track, “The Towers of My Cold Stone Dwelling Over the Mountains and Cliffside Landscapes” constructs a towering monument of classic second wave black metal all on its own… mid-tempo riffs heavily accentuated by snare hits in Viking-era Bathory fashion, acoustic passages, and mystical keyboards. The blast beats nearly sound off-tempo, but this only adds to the unpolished demo charm.
As far as I can tell the band recorded and mixed this release all on their own, so whether an intentional mimic of a classic Pytten production job or simple convergent evolution the band already seemed to have a keen ear for solid black metal within the very first year of their existence. “‘Neath Our War Hammer” takes things in a doomier direction with plodding, crushing riffs that take center stage, and closer “Throughout the Midnight Mist” showcases further pagan melodicism with its acoustic-led melody and synths that soar across the sky like the northern lights. Followed up in 1996 with full-length ‘Til Ten Years, December Wolves would sadly abandon this style of black metal in favor of a black/thrash sound, later adopting an industrial-influenced style that was all the rage in the early 2000s (finally disbanding some point after 2005). Nevertheless Wolftread holds its own as just one amongst a sea of great black metal demos from the 1990s still deserving of recognition three decades later, if one only makes the effort to seek them out.
Wolftread is available now through Bandcamp. For more information on December Wolves, check out their Encyclopedia Metallum page.
Twilight Hour: Paara — “Kirveenkantaja”
Finnish band Paara’s new full-length Laulut tulen ja jään was absolutely deserving of its own review upon release, but October 30th was already jam-packed with incredible albums within and well-beyond the bounds of black metal… this will have to suffice. Following a mood-setting folk intro, “Kirveenkantaja” is the first metal track on the album. Beginning with ritualistic drums and gruff call-and-response shouts, it’s hard not to compare to Heilung. This soon gives way to the folk black metal fare; melodic leads atop a blizzard of blast beats, a beautifully ascending vocal melody courtesy of vocalist Natalie Koskinen, and even an off-kilter, easily danceable beat. I’ve never had a stomach for the more goofy folk metal acts, and thankfully Paara only just dips their toes into that beer-filled vat… the latter half of the song further dissuades this by settling into a funerary dirge. “Kirveenkantaja” is a fine track all on its own, and Laulut tulen ja jään only gets better from here. For those mourning the long absence of Moonsorrow or wanting a more folkish counterpart to Havukruunu, do not miss out on Paara.
Laulut tulen ja jään is available now through Dusktone. For more information on Paara, check out their Facebook and Instagram pages.
— Colin
Leave a Reply