26th August 2023

Review: “MMXXIII” by Crown Of Ichor

“Formed in the summer of 2023, Crown of Ichor is a two piece studio project created over a shared love of Melodic Black Metal. Shunning common lyrical tropes such as religion and politics, the band instead takes their inspiration from their own lore. Over time, they plan to expand and tease further world building through their releases, crafting their own mythology of cosmic horror and sorcery. The two song “MMXXIII” demo tells the tale of a fallen emperor, brought low by an unknown malady and promised salvation should he drink from a cursed chalice. The promised cure turns out to be a hoax and instead the emperor suffers an even worse fate than the one he was originally facing. Damned to live forever, his body is transformed into a skeleton encased in living iron and his mind now rendered asunder, experiencing all time and realities at once, facing madness and suffering unending torment!” ~ Crown Of Ichor

Shrouded in a cloak of mystery, the first work of Crown Of Ichor is a short story of treachery as an Emperor falls into the spell of a siren who convinces him to drink from a poison chalice before revealing the curse. Described as a demo, the quality of the pair of tracks that form “MMXXIII” isn’t masked by a lack of higher quality mixing or mastering and while the sympathetically programmed drum machine sounds a little muddy and buried it is something that could easily be rectified. Opening cut “The Balefyre Chalice” is classically styled in modern Black Metal with Extreme tinges, tipping a hat to bands like Cradle Of Filth and Dimmu Borgir with hints at Scandinavian influences. The sweeping guitars are masterful, the bitter screams the perfect way to tell the story and the storytelling itself is sublime. “Thrice Cursed” has sumptuous majestic leads that re-animate the corpse and breathe fresh life into the fallen with a melancholic overtone as it builds from ember to inferno. A false ending and spoken word adds a haunting touch before the final epic moments. On this evidence, death is only the beginning of what Crown Of Ichor may offer as while they announce themselves as a new band they sound like seasoned veterans having the time of their lives [8/10]

Track Listing