Runemagick are among the most underrated bands in the history of metal. Their relative obscurity is hard to pin down. Musically, in terms of songcraft, atmosphere, and immersion into the unearthly realms of the occult, they are basically without peers.
Yet despite a prolific thirty-year existence, their reputation exists on the fringes: highly regarded by some but not highly enough considering the overall quality of their output.
“Darkness Death Doom” is another monster Runemagick record, twenty years old. When it comes to the elemental power and occult allure of Death/Doom Metal, there is hardly a band to listen to. Runemagick’s morose tunes, occult atmosphere, and penchant for bad trip riffs combine to form another intoxicating batch of criminally underrated tunes!
Not just Death Metal, Stoner Doom, or Death’N’Roll but somehow all of the above. Lyrically, Runemagick mines the vast untapped regions of inner darkness. This is dark psyche-stuff, tinged with occult knowledge and a hermetic desire for more than what the surface shows.
Taken altogether, there is not a false note to be heard. Some may not dig the somewhat meandering instrumentals but otherwise, this is a front-to-back masterpiece of true (oc)cult Death/Doom Metal from a band who deserves a much more!
