Portugal’s own Post-Black Metal masked collective is back again from the underworld, navigated countless darkened shades of metal to arrive at their stunning fifth album.

The uncanny Gaerea is nothing short of a beautiful enigma rooted in musical extremity and utter passion. In under a decade, the masked Post-Black Metal collective, born in the Portuguese town of Porto, has navigated countless darkened shades of metal to arrive at their fifth album, simply titled Loss, the follow-up to their 2024 critically acclaimed opus Coma. Recorded in early 2025 in Portugal with long-running collaborator Miguel Teroso at Demigod Recordings, Loss finds Gaerea emerging from creative chrysalis and bursting into something as engaging as it is unexpected, offering us all the sound of the masked specters of the band laying their souls bare. Musically and emotionally, they’re opening themselves up and bringing a decade’s worth of musical and personal soul-rending into sharper focus and becoming a genre-of-one in the process, continuing to define and redefine themselves album after album.

The band offers their trademark cryptic, ominous atmosphere right from the start in Luminary before they begin hammering their drums and firing strident riffs for our absolute delectation, whereas Submerged follows a similar style as the music from Coma, with its lyrics exhaling insanity and introspection (“We’re submerged, and can’t break free, / The tide of our story’s got a hold on me, / We’re submerged, and sinking slow, / We’re lost in the deep where the waters flow / The lies I hide… ”). Hellbound is another bestial song with a serene intro that explodes into sheer Post-Black Metal madness, with their scathing vocals and visceral riffs sounding fantastic; and their strident guitars will pierce deep inside your psyche in Uncontrolled, inviting us all to dive manically into a darkened mosh pit. After such a thunderous tune, Phoenix feels like the soundtrack to a psychological thriller, not to mention it’s impressive how they always blend classic Black Metal with more melodic and experimental sounds flawlessly, also presenting a truly epic vibe.

The intro to Cyclone is like a calm before the storm, evolving into a massive creature of Black and Post-Metal led by the grim vociferations by the band’s mysterious frontman. Then after the avantgarde interlude LBRNTH we’re treated to the infuriated yet also delicate Post-Black Metal extravaganza Nomad, showcasing perhaps the most passionate lyrics of the entire album (“I’m a drifter in life, / Forever chasing the fading light. / Every step is out of place, / Can’t seem to find my saving grace. / And I don’t know why I keep running, / Like I’m afraid of what’s becoming. / Every town’s a blur of blame, / No roots, just endless shame.”), followed by Stardust, offering an enfolding mix of clean and harsh vocals which combined sound stunning. It’s one of their most detailed compositions to date, where its blast beats walk hand in hand with the venomous sounds of their guitars until the song’s ethereal, melancholic grand finale.

“We’ve done what we’ve always done, which is follow our instincts,” says Gaerea’s anonymous vocalist. “Yet, something tells me that on this new record, there’s elements that both our new and old fans will love, but it’s not exactly what they’ll expect us to do.” If you want to explore more of Gaerea’s enigmatic world, you can find those masked metallers on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, stream more of their unique creations on any platform like Spotify, and of course put your darkened hands on Loss by purchasing it from BandCamp or from Century Media Records (or simply by clicking HERE). And if you still think Gaerea can be labeled as anything known to us after Loss (just like what I did in the beginning of this review by calling them Post-Black Metal, by the way), sorry but you’ll have to review your concepts. “We’re not a Black Metal band anymore, if we ever were,” states the vocalist. “We always have been compared to Hardcore bands and Post-Hardcore and Shoegaze and post-this and post-that. We’re slowly finding our way as a band but just as importantly, as people, but the DNA is always there. This is Gaerea!”

Best moments of the album: Submerged, Hellbound, Nomad and Stardust.

Worst moments of the album: LBRNTH.

Released in 2026 Century Media Records

Track listing
1. Luminary 5:10
2. Submerged 5:08
3. Hellbound 5:23
4. Uncontrolled 4:09
5. Phoenix 4:41
6. Cyclone 5:33
7. LBRNTH 2:24
8. Nomad 5:30
9. Stardust 7:58

Band members
*Information not available*