I’ve been thinking about eternal damnation a lot lately, not that I’m worried about the concept; I’m amused at how many people who claim to be “of god” will end up there if it’s real. Like, a comical amount. Wondering where we might go from here if there is something beyond this plane can keep people awake at night, and we have no idea what’s there.

Ridiculously prolific black metal confounders Esoctrilihum take you on some demented trip elsewhere with every record, and on, “Ghostigmatah – Spiritual Rites of the Psychopomp Abxulöm,” sole creator Asthâghul’s latest under this banner, we enter the afterlife. According to the bio, “The album is divided into four chapters, each of which tells a ritual stage in the long journey of dead souls towards the jaws of the 8-eyed psychopomp Abxulöm, who will finally deliver them to eternal nothingness.” I hate a cut-and-paste job as much as the next guy, but how can I possibly summarize that in my own words? Anyway, Asthâghul continues his mesmerizing black metal path and adds more sounds including theremin, harp, kantele, and hammered dulcimer, deepening the mythology and what’s possible with your imagination.

“Hark! The Bewitched Trumpet of the Red Harbinger Is Calling the Dead to Gather” blasts open with delirium, synth bathing with strangeness as throaty wails pummel, a weird fantasy feel floating through the keys. The tempo strengthens its grip as the screams get more shrill, the playing going cold, clean, gothy singing stirring incantations. The chants chill as fevered stomps rattle, bizarre emanations floating into space. “Kneeling Before the Keeper of the Golden Key to the Absolute Void” ruptures, organs raining down, the howls warping as darkened thrash shakes bones loose. The hypnosis digs in deeper alongside more orchestral elements, a synth sheet darting ahead, sounds shooting through shadows as gnarly growls bring violent change. The playing gets catchier as the keys send horrors, eerie singing leading into a dramatic finish. “At The Mercy of the Flaming Spear of the Bestial Hierophant” smashes and churns as the riffs spiral and the keys smear. The mood is dizzying as hearty cries and clean singing unite, blurring and disorienting, tornadic chaos blasting into rubbery bass. “Flesh Pierced by the Blades of Thritônh, Eyes Devoured by Vulth Suidarl, the Giant Fly,” is metallic and leaves that taste in your mouth, the strings glowing as hypnosis encircles, shrieks belting as the atmosphere demands total immersion. The playing ramps up as crazed growls punish, and dizzying sludge makes the footing impossible, melting into madness. “Hypnotic Danse Macabre of the Blind Noctivagants” opens with acoustics dashing, the growls gnawing as hammered dulcimer sets an ancient tone. Growls echo as the guitars chug harder, strange clean singing haunting, the strings penetrating, the tempo crushing faces.

“Orgiastic Sacrificial Mass to Conjur Abxulöm, Psychopomp Supreme” is sinister and heavy, the growls crawling down your back, vicious sentiment working alongside alien pastoral chants. Sounds swarm as the growls rake nails down cosmic chalkboards, all elements entering a stormfront, the singing warbling as the door closes. “Saturnal Towers of the Mighty Scarlet Moon Upon the Black Universe” is numbing as the symphonic strains increase bodily temperatures, mangling cries punching holes in your psyche. All of the strings cause hellish drama, the attack getting sinister, tearing open a hole from another dimension for unknown horrors to enter ours. “The Cosmic Deathbringer Comes, Riding a Bloody Horse of Goshenite” drills into your brain, ugly, hellish vocals pouring previously unseen colors into a growing nightmare. The playing trudges and smashes, the growls breathing fire and leaving psychological wounds behind, a thrashy assault bleeding into a grisly ending. “Mauled, Swallowed and Dissolved Into Nothingness By the 8-Eyed Psychopomp” is melodic as hell out of the gates, with higher calls making nerve endings activate, and theremin pressing a ghostly presence into the creation. Growls encircle as phantasms vibrate, layers of frost accumulating and making your body shake uncontrollably, the guitars jolting. The leads scuff as the heat singes, tortured cries ringing in your ears, the exhaust lifting and letting light into the room. Closer “Supplication of the Veiled Saint From the Secret Book of the Ghostigmatah Rites” starts with strings glistening and whispers darting through the air, settling into a dream state. The delicacy slowly erodes as savage howls join the fray, sounds jangling, the ferocity disappearing into an acidic sun.

Every Esoctrilihum record is an experience that demands time and effort on your part, and “Ghostigmatah – Spiritual Rites of the Psychopomp Abxulöm” provides plenty of material for your undivided attention. This is a fully immersive experience, one that can damage and salt wounds at times, but taking this on as a whole provides a much more immersive mission than if you break it into chunks. Asthâghul’s ambitions know no bounds, and he’s willing to push you to the limit and beyond to connect with his ritualistic vision.

For more on the band, go here: https://esoctrilihum.bandcamp.com/

To buy the album (U.S.), go here: https://metalodyssey.8merch.us/

Or here (Europe): https://metalodyssey.8merch.com/record-label/i-voidhanger-records/

For more on the label, go here: https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/