Inferno – The Anthropic Sophisms (On the Heights of Despair)
Release Date: 17th July 2026
Label: Debemur Morti Productions
Bandcamp
Genre: Avant-garde Black Metal
FFO: Blut Aus Nord, Cult of Fire, Primitive Man.
Review By: Celeste
A lot of Black Metal bands tend to wax and wane like the moon when it comes to when they start or stop making music. It is not uncommon to see bands have a ninth album in their repertoire, especially from ones that have started in the 1990s. This is especially for the case with Inferno, a band hailing from Czechia. Now do not be fooled by this album, despite there being four tracks, they carry a heavy weight that very much make this a full-length album, which ironically fits the title of the album itself, happily named The Anthropic Sophisms (On the Heights of Despair). While this is their ninth album, and staying strong with a consistent discography, it shows that they have continued their footing for some time, which is very impressive to notate.
The album starts with Fission of the Soul, and kicks off with a bang with immediate instrumentals. There is a “chuggy” feel, but it leaves you unexpected until the vocals come in. The intro may feel long, but it is a nice build up, and worth it for the very guttural vocals, making you feel like this is something horrific calling to you. There is a sense of brutalism in these vocals. It does not feel human and feels like they exist beyond human language. The riffs do feel a little repetitive, and even droning in this first song, but if you are someone who enjoys that repetition to that certain “groove” and almost lose your sense of self in the best way possible when listening to music, I would not deter from checking this out. With the second track, Dekranos Katexochen, it continues with this droning feeling, it’s very desolate, and feels similar to the first song, but later the synths pick up, and it becomes this standalone song that overshadows the repetitive nature, and you feel that sense of the beyond, almost ascension into something out of this world.
Moving onto the latter half of the album, the third track, With Raving Mouths They Utter Things Mirthless, Unadorned, and Unperfumed, has to be my favorite track because of how it starts with this industrial feel for the first few minutes then it goes into this fast-paced blast beat that almost feels like a sudden shock coming from the slowed down industrial start. While this continues on the same patch within this album, with the lack of vocals and letting the instrumentals do the talking, it is very good and something I could see myself enjoying in a live setting. Finally, closing off with Circulus Vitiosus Deus, this final track felt like it was coming down from the climatic nature that the prior track had. It felt slowed down, coming to a conclusion that stretched out and could feel as if you were falling right back into the abyss of nothingness that once started this very album. Almost like a cycle that continued to intertwine endlessly with no hope in sight. It very much felt like this as the track was reaching the end, slowing down even further and getting quieter, which was a nice touch, and good end note to leave onto this album.
I very much enjoyed the longer songs and desolate feel of this release, and would definitely recommend you check this out, especially if you enjoy a classic band such as Blut Aus Nord or even something newer like Cult of Fire. I am even going to throw in a wild card and say this reminds me a little of Primitive Man, despite their difference in genre, with the lengthy songs that give that droning feel, yet assault your senses in such a good and unique way. This may not be something that I would listen to on constant repeat, but more likely when I work out or do something where I want to lose myself in focus essentially. Lose the senses and have reason to leave footing, as Inferno has mentioned best themselves.
(3.5 / 5)
