Band:	The Ruins Of Beverast
Album:	The Thule Grimoires
Style:	Black metal, Doom metal
Release date:	February 2021

01. Ropes Into Eden
02. The Tundra Shines
03. Kromlec'h Knell
04. Mammothpolis
05. Anchoress In Furs
06. Polar Hiss Hysteria
07. Deserts To Bind And Defeat

The Ruins Of Beverast is a project that always found new and exciting ways to blend black and doom metal. This time around, they add some Type O Negative, Drown and Jesu to the mix.

I came upon The Ruins Of Beverast relatively late, mostly with the release of their 2017 album Exuvia, which I still think might be the best starting point for getting into the band. But with further listens, I started to grasp that each of the albums had a pretty unique identity, even if some of them might be a bit "transitional". Some have more relics from Alexander von Meilenwald's time in Nagelfar (not to be confused with Naglfar) and thus a more black metal sound, like Unlock The Shrine. Some have a strong funeral doom presence, like Blood Vaults. Exuvia saw them becoming more psychedelic, but also it was the first album done in a professional studio. I probably need a few more runs through their entire discog, but I think I got the essence.

There's a lot to live up to for The Thule Grimoires, so some of that space between it and the previous album have been filled with two splits (more on that here) that seemed to hint at some change of pace from Exuvia, but one still couldn't predict the direction that The Thule Grimoires would go other than that it would be more "epic". And on the surface, that's probably the most obvious thing about The Thule Grimoires, through its grandiose atmospheres and its greater use of chants and clean vocals. But the more you listen to those cleans, the more they sound... gothic?

I don't think I've heard as big of a gothic metal presence in The Ruins Of Beverast previously, and though it isn't relegated strictly to those low register cleans, the one name that comes to mind is mostly Type O Negative, particularly in the melancholic and drawn-out parts of World Coming Down. There's even a moment in "Polar Hiss Hysteria" that sounds exactly like the higher-register backing vocals you'd hear in a Type O Negative song. Though Alex is no Peter Steele, and his newfound appreciation for the singing style might take some getting used to. This gothic influence is very strong in some songs like "The Tundra Shines" and entirely absent in others, like "Ropes Into Eden".

But obviously the best thing about The Thule Grimoires, and The Ruins Of Beverast in general, is the soundscapes. Some moments feel a bit gazey and droney, like a blackened Jesu, but with a less organic feeling in the guitars, there are moments of thick black metal riffing akin to Nagelfar, but also deep psychedelic touches, sometimes a bit oriental-tinged, while other have a Drown-esque sense of submerged doom. The moods create an interesting contrast between transcendental and ominous, or epic and somber. The 69 (nice) minutes runtime of the album leaves von Meilenwald enough space to properly explore each of the elements that he tweaked for this release.

It's hard to predict what place this will take in The Ruins Of Beverast's discography. It doesn't feel as good of a starting point for newcomers, and its gothic drips might turn of a lot of people. But I can also see this being quite a grower. It won't be my favorite The Ruins Of Beverast, but it was fun hearing Type O Negative influences player out that way, and The Thule Grimoires definitely feels like those influences played with in a way that only von Meilenwald can.