Review: CULT OF EIBON – Black Flame Dominion

Year of release: 2021
Label: Iron Bonehead Productions
Rating: 8,4 / 10

In 2021, several godlessly beautiful Black Metal albums from Greece were released at once. And of course I am very late with my reviews of them. But true art exists outside of time, as evidenced by "Black Flame Dominion" from the Greek duo CULT OF EIBON.

Listening to this album, I think: either the Greeks finally perfected their national style after 30 years, or I just suddenly began to like the Greek scene. Until recently, I loved only one band from Greece that doesn't sound Greek at all - SARVARI. But ROTTING CHRIST, VARATHRON, ACHERONTAS and even DER STÜRMER left me indifferent. But in the last year or two, almost all promos from Greek bands have been great.

It should be noted that there is absolutely nothing new and modern in the music of CULT OF EIBON. This is the quintessential Greek Black Metal style, as classic as "Illiad" or "Odyssey". The same thing was was played by already mentioned ROTTING CHRIST and VARATHRON, THOU ART LORD, as well as the bands where the vocalist of CULT OF EIBON participates - KAWIR, NERGAL, LYKAIONAS. Simple analogue sound with drums and keys in the style of the BURZUM debut, rare heavy metal-type guitar solos, cryptic lyrics about Lucifer and Lovecraft, and, of course, the obligatory smoky veil of southern mysticism that sets Greece apart from all the scenes of the world. Unexpected success is provided by two things. First of all, all the classic Black Metal albums from Greece were kind of messed up. Somewhere, instead of a normal percussion, some electronic motherfucker played absolute shit. Somewhere, instead of vocals, they used unbearable moaning, and so on. CULT OF EIBON avoided all of this. They made the proper, nostalgic Greek sound without messing it up. Secondly, it is quite obvious that the musicians feel CULT OF EIBON within their hearts. For them, this is not just a “tribute”, but a continuation of the cult music that raised them. This album oozes passion. Listening to it, it's easy to imagine that CULT OF EIBON are ardent-hearted 18-year-old enthusiasts, when in fact they are closet-shaped men with brick faces. I highly recommend their work to all of you!