Review: ITERU “Ars Moriendi” [Helter Skelter / Regain Records]

In 2017 Belgian band Iteru started to make a big splash in the underground with their Ars Moriendi release and are hopefully laying back for a minute, soaking in the reverence.

34 minutes is a substantial amount of time for just four tracks but I think the way to look at Iteru’s Ars Moriendi is more like a soundtrack to bleak torture and anguish. I’ll try and explain: I could speak about the way the tracks are individual pieces of darkness, perfectly executed in their own light. I could say that it’s an essential piece of music for any Doom Metal fan. I could even say that the vocal slant haunts me and the choir/chant/lament/ purging are pure anguish made audio… All of this would be true but I would rather convey my true feelings to the Iteru style like this: This is background music from hell. Ars Moriendi will seep into you, it will not and cannot hammer its way into you like much of the metal available (apart from one obvious deviation mid-way through To the Gravewarden). With candles lit, wine glass in hand and Ars Moriendi playing – you’ll be transported, whisked away and slyly captured by Iteru. This is a true stroke of genius in Doom Metal.

Mixing and recording presents all instruments very well and can be appreciated and taken in as intended. I never measured the dynamic range in this release but it does sound spacious and vast. If it sounded any other way I think it would fail in its intentions. As it is, Iteru are up there with the best in quality making Ars Moriendi truly sparkle like the blackest of jewels. Only time will tell if we are ever able to know anything of the members of Iteru, all that is known so far is that they have come together from other Black Metal bands but want to remain a clandestine order for now.

Regain Records / Helter Skelter Productions must be very proud to release Ars Moriendi and I highly suggest you check out Iteru for yourself on Bandcamp to pre order, shipping 19^th October. I’ll be placing an order myself. Right here, you can check out our full stream of Ars Moriendi and also their video of We the Dead over on YouTube.

Truly heavy, menacing and perfectly paced, Iteru is for fans of early Cathedral, Sun O))) and Solitude Aeturnus. For fans that want some occult bite to their Doom. Touching as they do on the occult, I’m sure will go down a storm extreme metal fans the world over.