Mesmerized By The Unknown by Unapproachable Light wastes absolutely no time making its intentions clear. Once the obligatory intro has done its job and cleared the throat, what follows is a full-force collision with raw Black Metal that feels feral, physical, and completely unfiltered. This isn’t a demo that politely introduces itself or hints at future potential — it grabs you by the by the balls and squeezes until your eyes are bulging out of your head.
At its core, this is a one-man operation, and it sounds like it. Not in the sense of thinness or limitation, but in that focused, obsessive way that only solo projects tend to achieve. Every riff, every drum pattern, every vocal line feels like it comes from the same clenched jaw and single-minded vision. There’s no compromise here, no smoothing of edges to make things more palatable. Mesmerized By The Unknown is sharp, abrasive, and confrontational, exactly as Black Metal should be.
Their is a Greek Black Metal influence here that is unmistakable, but it’s worn with intelligence rather than reverence. You can hear the lineage in the weight of the riffs, the almost ritualistic pacing, and the sense of menace that hangs over the songs even at their most aggressive. This isn’t second-wave Scandinavian frost worship; it’s darker, heavier, more grounded, with riffs that feel carved rather than sprayed across the mix. There’s a sense of intention behind everything, a grasp of structure that stops the songs from collapsing into formless noise.
After the initial onslaught of the second track, Ancient Eyes of Gold, the demo settles into a confident rhythm. Track three’s instrumental break isn’t there to pad out the runtime or show off ambient tendencies — it serves as a moment of tension, a slow inhale before the lungs are filled with fire again. It adds depth without softening the blow, reinforcing the atmosphere without diluting the aggression.
Throughout Mesmerized By The Unknown the guitars have enough presence to feel massive without becoming a wall of indistinct fuzz, the drums punch through with authority, and the vocals sound genuinely unhinged — not performative, but possessed. This is the sound of someone pushing themselves hard rather than hiding behind lo-fi aesthetics.
For a demo, Mesmerized By The Unknown punches far above its weight. It doesn’t feel like a rough sketch or a testing ground — it feels like a statement. If this is what Unapproachable Light can deliver at this early stage, then whatever follows has serious potential to leave a mark. Raw, hostile, and driven by a clear vision, this is Black Metal that demands attention rather than asking for it.
Mesmerized By The Unknown by Unapproachable Light is available now via Bandcamp.
CHOICE CUT: Magic Taphos
BLACK METAL ARCHIVES VERDICT: A savage, focused demo that feels fully formed rather than tentative. Raw, ritualistic, and driven by a clear Greek-inspired vision, Mesmerized By The Unknown proves Unapproachable Light isn’t experimenting — they’re declaring intent, and it’s one worth taking seriously.
