Warhymn (or WarHymn, with capital ‘h’) were formed five years ago in Bucharest, the capital city of Romania. After Gnosis (2020, Narcoleptica Productions) and Cult Of Primordials (their debut-EP for Loud Rage Music, released in 2022; link for the review: see below), they recently came up with a new EP, which is sort of a teaser or special compilation, if you want. That’s because it consists of a new track from their upcoming full-length (to be released in 2025 via Loud Rage Music) and two re-issued tracks from the aforementioned debut-album Gnosis.
But first things first… Founding member Alin ‘Shavy’ (vocals and guitars) teamed up once more with bassist Hex, drummer Philip and guitar-player / singer Rizea; a team that brought us the grandiose aforementioned 2022-EP Cult Of Primordials. Things were recorded, mixed and mastered with producer / mixer Andrei Alexandru Bogdan and have now been self-released digitally (physically?) with support by their parent label. It does come with artwork by Gustave Doré, i.e. a glimpse of his Paradise Lost series.
The EP opens with a new piece, which will be part of next year’s new album. Occult Fire (Lucifer’s Hymn) stands for an overwhelming, powerful epos, very energetic in essence, with a persuasive execution. As from the start, a certain bombast manifests, bringing forth a symphonic, occult track with so many levels. It permanently changes in tempo and structure, with at the one hand several fast-paced and kinetic chapters, interacting with a few slower, rather esoteric fragments. There is a huge variety as well in instrumental and vocal approach, with raw narratives, harmonious choirs and, especially, deep and powerful screams. It do like that rough timbre, which is bleak and merciless, yet not too high-pitched. The melodic structures combine harmony with technicity, resulting in an arousing teaser for the upcoming full-length.
Both other epics are taken from Warhymn’s debut Gnosis, i.e. Descendants Ov Cain and the ‘old’ song Originea. Both have been re-recorded for this EP exclusively. Here too, the grotesque and grandiloquent elegance – and hey, in this case it’s meant positively – exceeds all nature of superficiality. The band is not about to reinvent the scene; on the contrary, they are very ‘traditional’ in their sound and approach. But the qualitative angle is more than satisfying. Heroic fragments, atmospheric passages, decelerated fragments, blasting outbursts, and high-tech chapters are all part of the organically coherent play. It does sound quite ‘catchy’ somehow (more than the new track), yet still there’s a convinced tribute-thing towards the origin of the scene (and who are we to ignore / blame this?).
In short: Occult Fire is like a sensual teaser for the upcoming full-length, because the new track sounds very promising. The rearranged bonus-tracks are at least as exciting as their original edition, since they do sound more ‘mature’ and epic than before (like that orchestral intro on Originea). …impatiently awaiting 2025…
https://loudragemusic.bandcamp.com/album/warhymn-occult-fire
https://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/warhymn