Band:	Lamp Of Murmuur
Album:	Heir Of Ecliptical Romanticism
Style:	Black metal
Release date:	October 2020

01. Of Infernal Passion And Aberrations
02. Bathing In Cascades Of Caustic Hypnotism
03. Gazing Towards The Hallways Of A Peaceless Mind
04. The Scent Of Torture, Conquering All
05. Chalice Of Oniric Perversions
06. Heir Of Ecliptical Romanticism
07. The Stars Caress Me As My Flesh Becomes One With The Eternal Night
08. In The Wake Of Adversity [Dead Can Dance cover]

Raw one-man black metal projects usually come a dime a dozen, so for one that is only now releasing its actual full-length to get so much underground buzz, it must mean they're doing something right.

We have covered Lamp Of Murmuur in the past in our Clandestine Cuts series (here and here), so we bought into the hype quite early. Having only started releasing demos last year, Lamp Of Murmuur has been releasing demos (and one split) quite regularly, three last year and three this year. However it was clear that it would eventually come a point where the Bandcamp page would no longer feature the "(Demo)" mention in the title, and the anticipation for how the project would build upon all that hype was obviously quite high. Now that it is here, it's quite clear why Lamp Of Murmuur is standing out from the sea of raw one-man black metal projects.

Let's talk about the production first. Obviously the "raw" descriptor in "raw black metal" indicates that Lamp Of Murmuur went the "cheapest mic available" route, but I really doubt that's the case, only deceivingly so. The music sounds really raw on the surface, with a bit of a nauseating sense of demented and cold atmosphere, but its clear that this atmosphere is built a bit more meticulously, and the more you pay attention to it, the flow and transitions aren't as jarring as something as raw could get, and the layering makes each instrument stand out quite clearly. The drums, guitars and vocals are each playing a very essential role, and I can't say there are many moments where one takes the forefront of the mix more than necessary. And yet, the mix still doesn't sound polished or rigidly structured. Everything still manages to sound raw, so the balance between the two makes it have the best of both approaches.

For a one-man band, the drumming on this album is quite competent, or at least done in such a way that it isn't jarringly obvious whether they were programmed or not. There are plenty of drum fills that do give the drums a few moments to shine in what is otherwise mostly a guitar/vocals album. I can't say there are that many riffs on this album, as the raw atmospheric nature of the album kinda asks for some degree of hypnotizing repetition, but the riffs are pretty intricate and surprisingly melodic, taking some clear inspiration from some 80s speed/thrash/heavy metal (even 70s hard rock) as well as classic 2nd wave black metal, and by raw black metal standards, Lamp Of Murmuur doesn't linger as long on a single riff. Neither the longer nor the "leaner" songs never really feel boring or unnaturally elongated.

Comprised of a few re-worked songs from previous demos, a few ambiental interludes, a few originals, and a Dead Can Dance cover, Heir Of Ecliptical Romanticism's 47 minutes is definitely the best minutes of music they produced. The re-worked songs sound significantly better than on the demos, though I'm sure some rawness enthusiasts would disagree. The cover song finds a somewhat different side of Lamp Of Murmuur, especially with the synths and the clean vocals, but at least it acknowledges that Within The Realm Of A Dying Sun is the best Dead Can Dance album. And the passionate vocals definitely tie in with the "romantic" aura that the album somehow manages to uphold. I mean, most music in the world is about love in some way or another, who said that raw black metal is exempt from the rule. It just had to find a way to make it not feel unkvlt. And it did.