PESTILENTIAL SHADOWS
In memoriam , Ill omen

Collectors Edition in 6-panel Digipack, limited to 500 copies.

Pestilential Shadows is a black metal band hailing from Sydney, Australia. Playing in local black metal bands since 1997, in 2003 Balam decided to form Pestilential Shadows with the goal of creating atmospheric and intense black metal and its reputation as one of the most innovative bands in the black metal scene.

Throughout their career, Pestilential Shadows has continued to release music that pushes the boundaries of black metal, remained true to their vision of creating intense and atmospheric black metal and has continued to experiment with different sounds and instrumentation, pushing the boundaries of the genre and creating a unique sound that is instantly recognizable. The band's music has been described as "otherworldly" and "haunting", and their influence can be felt throughout the black metal scene.

2023 marks the 20 year anniversary and a new era for the band. With the current line-up, now consisting of Balam, Basilysk, Krvna Vatra & Mourn, Pestilential Shadows are poised to release their 7th album “Devil’s Hammer” (Last Gasp Studios) through Northern Silence - a swirling maelstrom of aggressive, melodic and complex instrumentation & vocals.

Limited edition of 280 copies on amber vinyl, incl. gatefold cover and download. Co-release with Brilliant Emperor Records.
One of Australia's longest-running and most respected black metal bands, Pestilential Shadows have been building a towering canon of work since 2003. Whereas many of their native land's extreme metal exports either tend toward the chaotic or too clean, the shadowy collective led by founding vocalist / guitarist Balam consistently create compelling swathes of drama and darkness, all-enveloping emotion and regal-yet-gritty grandeur. Truly, Pestilential Shadows are black metal classicism par excellence.

And while the last handful of their albums the past decade-plus have seen sizable gaps between them, Pestilential Shadows strike while the iron's hot with Wretch. Simply and substantially titled, Wretch follows from last year's Devil's Hammer and continues the band's progression / regression toward uglier, gnarlier expanses. Mind you, it's a lateral development rather than a vertical one - the "form" is still BLACK METAL, and its attendant contents are ruminations on death and the beyond - but the fact that Pestilential Shadows can subtly-to-significantly shift their sonic palette whilst conveying their characteristic melancholy and tragedy speaks to the enduring strength of their songwriting. What's more, the album's production is palpably professional, feeling effervescent and crisp even when running through those uglier, gnarlier expanses. If anything, said recording style of Wretch - mastered by Krvna mainman Krvna Vatra, who played on the aforementioned Devil's Hammer, with mixing done by Balam - gives the record a uniquely ethereal aspect, even when the band have kicked into ultraviolent overdrive. Above all, the eight songs that comprise the 49-minute Wretch prove Pestilential Shadows as masters of pacing, doling out the sublime and the profane with equally windswept aplomb. Of especial note is the solemn procession of "Where Sunlight Goes to Die," which features guest choral vocals from Dis Pater of Midnight Odyssey.

As always, totality is key, and thus has Greallach Art been brought back to provide stark & austere cover artwork for Wretch. On the strength of this album alone, Pestilential Shadows continue to assert their position as a classics-minded black metal vanguard.