MÖHRKVLTH - GWENOJENNOÙ AN ANKOUNAC’H

Released via Antiq Records, the French outfit’s second album operates within pagan black metal traditions without becoming trapped by genre ritualism. The usual aesthetics are present, winter, memory, rural decay, spiritual unease, however Möhrkvlth approach these themes with unusual intelligence. The album’s melancholy is grounded in landscape, language and cultural memory, leaving the fantasy escapism bs for dead.

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Across six tracks, Möhrkvlth forge a dense, windswept sound balancing aggression with emotional weight. Guitars move constantly between driven violence and melodic passages that recall the grandeur of early Empyrium, without abandoning black metal’s harsher foundations. Blast beats and ragged vocal lines lay central, but are rarely used as blunt force alone.

Opening track “Dindan Gouloù Ar C’hroajoù Mein” lands cold, fluid and deeply immersive. Transitions between violent sections and quieter passages are handled with patience, allowing melodies to emerge gradually through the haze. “Va C’heriadenn” pushes further into the album’s core, transforming ideas of homeland and loss into something mournful without sentiment.

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The record’s most defining moment arrives with “Pour Une Couronne De Chrysanthèmes,” where Möhrkvlth synchronize their melodic instincts with the album’s bleak emotional undercurrent. Drumming becomes almost martial beneath layers of spectral guitars and distant choirs, creating a close feeling of historical mourning.

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What makes Gwenojennoù An Ankounac’h so special is its sense of place. The fog, isolation and fading rural memory embedded within these songs give the record a permanence many atmospheric black metal releases lack, and we’re one hundred percent here for it.

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SCORE 8.5/10

Words by LearnTwoExist

In collaboration with Headbangers Australia

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