When I first stumbled across Transilvania 5 years ago now upon the release of their sophomore album, Of Sleep and Death, I found myself immediately bewitched by their unique brand of blackened heavy metal. Here was a band who graduated from the school of “not quite first wave, not quite second wave” worship, channeling the arcane stylings of Root, Master’s Hammer, and Tormentor, while simultaneously standing tall alongside contemporaries of this nature like Malokarpatan. And while the album wasn’t of the same caliber as one from Malokarpatan (few acts these days can hold a candle to them), it certainly stood out in an otherwise monochrome black metal landscape.
This is all the more reason why, after a half decade wait, their latest album, Magia Posthuma, feels like a disappointment by comparison. Believe me, I’m as shocked typing this as you are reading this. Whereas OSaD was a wildly enchanting barrage of metallic incantations from beyond, Magia Posthuma is a rather straightforward, no nonsense release, only deviating off course during its most intriguing moments. Granted, there are some bands for whom predictability is not just par the course, but expected. Nobody wanted to hear a pop song from Motörhead. Transilvania are not one such band.
The front half of this affair is unfortunately weighed down by drab, meat and potatoes black metal in the vein of acts like Watain or 1349. By no means is it bad, especially by black metal standards, but it isn’t anything special either. The first three songs, the opening title track, “Thrall”, and “Set the Tombs on Fire” all plod along with devilish atmosphere, Norwegian-tinged guitarwork, and rasped vocals. They aren’t shabby, until you realize you’ve lost 17 minutes and 20 seconds before anything of remote substance graces your ears, which is a LONG time for a black metal album. Thankfully, the punkish “Tuberculosis Reigns” serves as a much needed shot of adrenaline, setting the stage for a much more thrilling back half.
“A Tower to Confess” recalls the grandiose, epic Root-esque songwriting explored on OSaD, emphasizing plodding blackened doom riffs, impassioned leads, and an intense atmosphere of suffocating dread. Meanwhile, the frenetic “Hallows of the Heir” evokes the unrelenting black-thrash onslaught of Transilvania’s earliest days, boasting riffage and attitude reminiscent of Absu and Nifelheim, and the disorienting blackened death of “Poenari by Night” sounds like the musical equivalent of a forbidden grimoire, each guitar riff unlocking a piece of cursed knowledge. Closing with an epic blackened speedster in “The Faustian Bargain” was a wise choice, saving this album from the unforgiving depths of mediocrity.
Mind you, smartasses of the heavy metal interweb, I said Magia Posthuma was a disappointment in comparison to its predecessor: Not a disappointment entirely. I still stand by this, and implore that you give Of Sleep and Death a revisit. If you disagree with me, chances are you prefer second wave BM over first wave BM, which is all fine and good. Different strokes for different folks. I just feel Transilvania has a better grip on the latter, or at least sound more natural when playing such. Hopefully they too come to this conclusion, so come their next album in 2031, I’ll be spared damn near 20 minutes of Waitainery.
6 out of 10
Label: Invictus Productions
Genre: Black Metal
For fans of: Malokarpatan, Tormentor, Watain
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