INEXORUM

Moonlit Navigation GILEAD MEDIA

Majestic second outing from Minneapolis melodic BM duo

Inexorum’s approach to melodic black metal might best be characterised as finding a serene lake amidst a raging storm. Which is to say, where groups like Auðn use melodic passages to play against black metal’s inherent heaviness, Inexorum incorporate melodiousness into the heart of the storm to achieve a sound that is at once furious and majestic. Both elements are in wonderful harmony on

Moonlit Navigation. The band’s second outing builds ever grander structures from the foundations set on their 2018 debut, Lore Of The Lakes, albeit with a stronger sense of auteurship courtesy of the burgeoning creative partnership of founder Carl Skildum and co-conspirator Matthew Kirkwold. Most interesting is how the band take 90s black metal worship and turn it into a force for introspection and growth, the record’s lyrical content fittingly reflective of Inexorum’s capability to find beauty in darkness. ■■■■■■■■■■

FOR FANS OF: Sacrilegium, Gaerea, Saor

RICH HOBSON