Moving onwards and upwards from their enjoyably rabid previous album Kosmocide in 2019, Polish black metallers Deus Mortem are back. And in a move that will doubtless upset some, the band have dialled back a little on the aggression and rawness in favour of a sound that although still the essence of black metal, is notably more melodic than before. Opener Krwawy świt ("Bloody Dawn") opens with the usual level of blasting but the pace soon slows into a groovy stomper that, although still a long way from melodic death territory, is considerably more akin to Dissection than previous touchstones like Azarath. The track shifts tempo multiple times to faster and slower pacing, also featuring backing acoustic strums and moments of near-proggy melody thanks to guitarists Necrosodom and Tom Hermies - the latter a new addition to the band after previous stringsman Sinister departed in 2022. A new line-up would be a good reason for changing sound, the band also having swapped drummer Stormblast (Infernal War) for a session performance from Antigama's Paweł Jaroszewicz.

All perform wonderfully, yet fans of the previous sound are likely to hear the likes of Slow Death and think that there is a little too much Watain to Deus Mortem now! This six-minute epic piece starts with a slower, intense crawl yet will warm the heart of any heavy metal fanatic with some melodic widdling solos and a thrashy gallop around the midpoint, leading to a powerful and crushing outro with more excellent lead guitar. There's still plenty of Azarath in the Deus Mortem DNA, don't worry; this is merely a new string to the band's bow, well-implemented between the likes of Krwawy świt and the following Resurrecting the Pillars of Fire which storms along with a grandiose air, more acoustic guitar thrown in for atmosphere's sake - and really, hearing Necrosodom's angry snarls here alone should be enough to convince anyone that the band are far from a sellout. These slower, stompier moments in pieces like A Lamb in the Arms of a Wolf are convincingly intense throughout the album, never letting you doubt the band's Satanic message.

The mixture of styles is well-done and placed cleverly for maximum contrast, building on the feeling of variety from before whilst taking it further. W serce płomiennej gnozy ("Into the heart of fiery gnosis") alone has enough of the band's typical aggression to spare, plus plenty of rockstar guitar and even some chillingly frosty synths, and it all sounds tremendous and sticks in your head. Although the meat of the album is still blasts and raging, and Deus Mortem have long since been stellar at both, the melodic riffing in, say, Czarny kruk ("Black raven") has more than enough rock n'roll present to please even power metalheads. The martial feel on When the Creation Tastes of Dionysian Wine, not to mention the ambient interlude and early nineties feel from the midpoint as it barrels through snow-covered forests, is all fantastic; as is the most progressive finale Noesis which really shows the band's compositional skills off with shades of everything from goth to doom, as well as some truly outstanding drumming. This album starts well and only grows on you - a fine follow-up and a solid case for how underrated Polish black metal can be.