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After a 14-year hiatus following the critically acclaimed To Lay Like Old Ashes, Austere resurfaced in 2023 with a new slab of wretched misery in Corrosion of Hearts. This album, like its predecessors, is rooted in the deep furrows of depressive black metal and drenched in layers of haunting atmosphere reminiscent of Drudkh and the likes. The first two songs, "Sullen" and "A Ravenous Oblivion", are dark, expressive and quite frankly, gorgeous. Despairing riffs, bleak vocals shifting between shrieks, growls and howls, and evocative melodies dominate the soundwaves. Even though both songs run for a combined duration of nearly 25 minutes, they are both dripping in quality and I never get bored listening to them.

Unfortunately, they are not able to keep the momentum going on the rather bland and repetitive "The Poisoned Core," which is the shortest song here but feels like the longest. "Pale" on the other hand does a decent job of closing the album, but still never really reaches the level of the first two in terms of quality and creativity. That said, as a whole, this is a good album, where more than half of it is damn excellent. So, if you're into depressive and/or atmospheric black metal, definitely check it out. After all, autumn is here.