Despite its contentious spirit, black metal can be awfully rigid. But Wrath of Logarius aren’t bound by the scene’s strict traditions. Their first album officially coronates a new realm for the subgenre: formless black metal. Much like their namesake, the band’s next move is impossible to predict. Yet no matter what skeletal form they assume, Crown of Mortis pronounces Wrath of Logarius as unflinching kings of this new realm.
Though they hail from the misty forests of Northern California, it’s fitting that whispers of Wrath of Logarius began amongst the digital realm. After all, the band are named after a notoriously difficult video game dungeon master. When their cryptic debut “1897” dropped out of thin air during the pandemic, the song burned up message boards so quickly that the flames could be seen from the South of France. After signing with Season of Mist in 2023, they formally introduced formless black metal with an EP that spread through the world of extreme metal like a bloodborne virus.
“Creating a new subgenre label and having it work? *Chef’s Kiss*”, New Noise gushed over Necrotic Assimilation. Meanwhile, Teeth of the Divine were nearly knocked unconscious by its brutal assault on the senses. “Lord Marco’s drum work is ridiculous here and is almost making my vision vibrate”.
Many hunters would’ve reaped those rewards while resting their bones, but the lore behind Wrath of Logarius continues to grow. This band of skeletons were already busy fleshing out their first full-length before Necrotic Assimilation had even swarmed streaming services. Crown of Mortis follows the immediate aftermath of their viral takeover. Each song twists into a uniquely horrific tale that serves the larger plot of its accursed king. “Unfathomable” opens as if trapped in another nightmarish dimension, though its narrator’s ominous transmission can’t stop “Keeper of the Spectral Legion” from summoning an army of the undead.
“Ancient — Power — Cosmic — Legion“, Noctifer growls. As his gutturals climb into throat-scraping agony, axemen Urath and Vastator switch the blade of their Stregas from merciless death metal chug to tremolo pickings that are pierced with gloom.
With Crown of Mortis, Wrath of Logarius build on their throne of formless black metal. Though possessed by a mournful melody, “Long Dead the King” marches to Lord Marco’s blistering blasts. The flays from his flying fingers are so precise in their pounding that they erode the mind. But while the band have leveled up in brute strength, the album also ups their chilling sense for atmosphere with hair-raising skill. With the curl of each blackened tendril, “Of the Void” embraces transfiguration by fire and ice. “Open the gates and let revision in“, Noctifier beckons amidst swirling dissonance. “Slowly dismantle every part of you“.
Wrath of Logarius also encrust Crown of Mortis with deadly new jewels. Another woodland specter comes to join their ranks on “The Ethereal Mist”. Beneath its slithering stomp emerges Vilhelm of Grima with freshly rotten snarls. “Lurker’s Tomb” crashes down with knuckle-dragging riffs and brutal double bass kicks, but its trap is sprung by a solo that’s treachery lies in its maze-like technicality. “The fear subsides for now I breathe again“, Noctifier shrieks as the album’s dread-inducing closer ascends into the astral plane.
On Crown of Mortis, Wrath of Logarius bend black metal to fit their formless rule.
Line-up:
Noctifer – Vocals
Urath – Lead Guitar
Vastador – Guitar
Lord Marco – Drums
Recording Studio:
Rapture Recordings, Hayward, CA, USA
Production Credits:
Produced, Engineered, Mixed & Mastered by Cody Fuentes at Rapture Recordings Studio
Cover Art:
Sant V. Schreiber
Pre-save & Pre-order: https://orcd.co/wrathoflogariuscrownofmortis
Follow Wrath of Logarius:
Bandcamp: https://wrathoflogarius.bandcamp.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wrath_of_logarius/
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/artist/wrath-of-logarius/1712706210
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0CHi92LvwVayTacWx3nsfa
Available Formats:
Digital Download
CD Digipack
12″ Colored Vinyl Gatefold – Ichorous Red (Red and Black Marbled)
