Confession time. Normally, I wouldn’t touch a single review with a 10 foot pole. Not that I have anything against singles, you understand, it’s just that if you’re writing about one or two tracks, their really isn’t a lot you can say after you’ve given your opinion on the one or two tracks you’ve just listened to.

For example, I fucking love the new Scour single, but it won’t be making an apperance here as anything I have to say about it will be said in about a paragraph and a half, and it’s a waste of time and space for me to comment on it, when I’d be better off waiting around for the full album to drop. So then, I hear you wondering, why in the blue hell am I reviewing Balga Castle by Balga? Quite simply, because it’s fucking brilliant and I think everyone who reads the Black Metal Archives should go and buy it, straight away.

One of the tags used on Balga’s Bandcamp page lists this under epic black metal, and that is exactly what Blaga’s Castle is. It is sweeping, symphonic black metal at its abosulte finest. From its opening refrain of waves lapping against rocks and gulls crying in the background, to its almost medieval acoustic guitar that gives way to a savage black metal verse, which in turn blends seamlessly into a Herculean chorus that is so strong and powerful, you feel it could carry the world on its shoulders, Balga Castle is a complex and layered piece of music that will work its way into your essence and refuse to leave. If music is a work of art, then this is a fucking Da Vinci and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Head on over to Balga’s Bandcamp page and pick up this hidden gem.