2024 Retro – BENEATH MOONLIGHT

"BENEATH MOONLIGHT retain a strangely unique perspective, which is quite daunting given this is only their first EP!" (MetalMatters)

In the twelfth chapter of our retrospective series, we heed the funeral moon and turn to the debut EP of lycanthropic Black Metal entity, BENEATH MOONLIGHT. Explore further entries in our retrospective series on our website, featuring 2024 masterpieces from ULCERATE, ERSHETU, and WAIDELOTTE, among others.

Born within the shadowed circle of Ordo Vampyr Orientis (BAT MAGIC, BAD MANOR, BEASTIAL MAJESTY), the spectral BENEATH MOONLIGHT draw deeply from unorthodox Black Metal of the '90s and the gothic reveries of haunted castles and disturbed cemeteries. With their fevered and untamed debut EP, "Beneath Moonlight", the quintet makes its initial vampiric mark via six mesmerizing compositions.

"A representation of devilish sonic sorcery!" (No Clean Singing)

BENEATH MOONLIGHT channel the same unhinged irreverence that has defined the previous works of the enigmatic Ordo Vampyr Orientis collective. Propelled by a relentless rhythm section and razor-sharp, precisely executed riffing, their sound is dominated by the tortured howls of the undead, punctuated by feverish, strident piano runs – like the very essence of human and lupine bloodlines entwining in a single, cursed form.

This EP marks the opening chapter of the Henricus Institor saga, named after the infamous German clergyman who, in 1487, authored the Malleus Maleficarum - a ruthless manual detailing the persecution and execution of alleged witches. As witch hunts spread across Europe, Institor’s influence within the Catholic Church swelled, fueling both his ambition and his notoriety in the realms of forbidden arts. Eventually, his name became so reviled among practitioners of magic that a vengeful conspiracy took shape: to abduct Institor and afflict him with lycanthropy, condemning him to a monstrous fate that would render him forever outcast from the Church he once ruled.

"A truly great surprise!" (Goûte Mes Disques)

Listen to "Beneath Moonlight" below, via our YouTube channel and on all streaming platforms:

Though the five members of this enigmatic collective choose to remain shrouded in secrecy, their presence lingers in the shadows. Here, the band offers a rare statement on their existence and the tales they seek to tell:

"The BENEATH MOONLIGHT EP's sum is greater than its parts. The superlative talents put forth by the band, its producers Sanguine and Jacob Buczarski, visual artists Karmazid, Misanthropic-Art, and Into the Abyss Design, and our home label Debemur Morti are compounded atop each other and create something larger than life. The Black Metal we offer here follows a distinct evolutionary path, and we pay homage to it, but we look further back to a time before black metal, or Metal at all. We are, first and foremost, a Black Metal band, and identifying as anything else would be foolish and egotistical, looking to acts like OBTAINED ENSLAVEMENT, EIKENSKADEN, and BETHLEHEM for primary inspiration, but we also cite more, as well. Finding further inspiration in distinctly over the top performances by musicians like Liszt, Paganini, Schubert, and Horowitz, but also Rhoads, Blackmore, and Gorham and Robertson, we look beyond the mundane for inspiration and feel our expression of Black Metal stands apart from the pretenders, the aesthetic bound, and the mediocre that floods the current "scene"."

What the year 2025 holds for BENEATH MOONLIGHT remains unknown, but one truth is certain – the story of Henricus Institor is far from fully told…