This uncanny American Avantgarde Death and Black Metal duo is back from the netherworld with their caustic ninth studio album, pitting the listener as judge and jury, bearing witness to a deposition of spiraling madness.
Less than a year of releasing the massive Longing for Triumph, Reeking of Tragedy, Pennsylvania, United States-based Avantgarde Death/Black Metal duo Veilburner is back from the netherworld with their ninth studio album, poetically titled All that Glimmers is Gloam. Featuring a wicked, captivating artwork by Luciana Nedelea, the new offering by the uncanny Chrisom Infernium on vocals (who also took care of lyrics and album design) and Mephisto Deleterio on all instruments and vocals (as well as being responsible for the music and production) pits the listener as judge and jury, bearing witness to a deposition of spiraling madness – a testimony mired in the bog of counterfeit gnosis, orchestrated amid Mephisto’s instrumental haunts of melodic dissonance and Chrisom’s séanced howls, each reverberating through a theatre of fracturing sanity.
The duo kicks off another demented feast of Avantgarde Death and Black Metal with Here is Thine Sabbath, So Mote it Chasm, where Mephisto crafts a piercing, demonic ambience with his riffs, bass and drums; followed by Oblivion is Yours to Labyrinth, which carries a cryptic name for a lesson in Experimental Black Metal, with their devilish vociferations sounding as captivating as they’re haunting. Vitriolic Hiss, one of the first singles released, will darken your minds and consume your souls, led by the caustic, inhumane vociferations by Chrisom, while Phænomena Obscura is another song with a beyond venomous title, and the music is just as harsh, with the guitars by Mephisto transpiring aggression.
No idea if Dis’ Obedient Woe is a song or an interlude. It’s one hundred percent atmospheric and a bit too lengthy for my taste, though, whereas in Of Godslave and Blood Mortar the duo gets back to a much more ferocious and insane vibe, with all background elements sounding like the soundtrack to a cryptic horror movie. Then in A Séance to Spectre we’re treated to a wild fusion of Avantgarde Black Metal with Industrial and Experimental Metal elements, not to mention Mephisto doesn’t stop pounding his drums not even for a single second; followed by Golgothic Holocaust, another song with a killer guitar work by Mephisto while Chrisom continues to darkly declaim the song’s demented words. And they close the album with the infernal title-track All That Glimmers is Gloam, where all vocals, riffs, bass and drums walk hand in hand in an ode to absolute chaos and darkness.
As mentioned in the review of their preivous album, you can find such a unique duo on Facebook and on Instagram, stream their fantastic discography on Spotify, and put your dirty hands on their new album from their own BandCamp or from the Transcending Obscurity Records’ BandCamp, main store, US store or EU store. If you’re a fan of the infernal music blasted by renowned acts the likes of Blut aus Nord, Imperial Triumphant, Deathspell Omega, Hexrot, Oranssi Pazuzu, Akhyls, and Akercocke, you’ll surely have an amazing time listening to All That Glimmers is Gloam. However, you better be prepared as once you enter Veilburner’s realm of madness and obscurity, there’s no way out.
Best moments of the album: Oblivion is Yours to Labyrinth, Phænomena Obscura and All That Glimmers is Gloam.
Worst moments of the album: Dis’ Obedient Woe.
Released in 2026 Transcending Obscurity Records
Track listing
1. Here is Thine Sabbath, So Mote it Chasm 5:03
2. Oblivion is Yours to Labyrinth 5:05
3. Vitriolic Hiss 5:52
4. Phænomena Obscura 5:32
5. Dis’ Obedient Woe 5:33
6. Of Godslave and Blood Mortar 5:48
7. A Séance to Spectre 6:49
8. Golgothic Holocaust 4:03
9. All That Glimmers is Gloam 6:42
Band members
Chrisom Infernium – vocals
Mephisto Deleterio – all instruments
