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Review: Purgatory Hallucinations - Ceremonial Magic
Purgatory Hallucinations
purgatoryhallucinations.bandcamp.com
Ceremonial Magic

Label: Independent
Year released: 2024
Duration: 16:31
Tracks: 3
Genre: Death/Doom

Rating:
3.75/5


Review online: April 12, 2025
Reviewed by: Luxi Lahtinen
Readers' Rating
How do you rate this release?

Rated 3.67/5 (73.33%) (3 Votes)
Review

Finnish two-piece Purgatory Hallucinations emerged from the depths of Finland last year to spin out their debut demo, a haunting blend of doom, black, and death metal that they describe as "phantasmal funeral doom." After a brief intro, proper opener "Spectral Fog" sets the stage for what they do, starting with the slow, monolithic pace you'd expect from funeral doom before sending out bursts of black metal aggression and guttural growls that complement the unsettling, almost spectral atmosphere and ties them together into something oppressive and captivating. "Ceremonial Magic," meanwhile, contains more melodic undertones while retaining a dark, cavernous heaviness that weaves in intricate death metal riffs for an extra layer of raw intensity, and ends up being the strongest song here as its epic sprawl crescendos into a ferocious wall of sound before fading into a final moment of eerie silence. I don't often do track by tracks, but I only have the two to go off here, and through them, I'd say these boys know how to blend black and death metal into doom better than most, which is a damn challenging balancing act to maintain. Dark, foreboding, and hauntingly beautiful, fans of atmospheric yet crushing doom will find this demo an immersive experience that promises great things from this band's future.

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