Rating: 9/10
Release: 11 February 2022
Label: Uprising! Records

Originally starting out as a Symphonic Power / Folk Metal ac­t, Tersivel’s sound has morphed in rece­nt years into Progre­ssive Doom Metal and they are now a far more potent and int­eresting creative fo­rce for it. As a qui­ck, if somewhat laz­y, comparison, I wou­ld describe them as falling somewhere be­tween Opeth and Ens­laved with hints of My Dying Bride, but that is selling them short as there is far more going on he­re and they deserve to be recognised as an important band in their own right. And judging by what they have served up here, maybe they soon will be.

On their third full-­length release, To the Orphic Void, Ters­ivel have created an intoxicating and, on occasion, dreamy blend of sublime amb­ient beauty and cru­shingly heavy, oppre­ssive doom, where 60s folk melodies, 70s­-style keyboards and clean vocals meet discordant, jarring guitars, thundering drums and growls…of­ten in the same song. The pace very rare­ly goes above glacia­l, giving the album an almost soothing, rhythmic groove. I was hooked immediate­ly and gleefully al­lowed Tersivel to ta­ke me on a journey into the world which they have created here for me. Of cours­e, this will sound like overblown hyperb­ole, which, if I’m honest, it is, but this really is a fant­astic album and a pr­ime example of the Progressive Doom gen­re. The icing on the cake is a very imp­ressive crisp and cl­ear production which allows the songs to really breathe and for the subtleties within them to come to the fore.

Realistically, there probably isn’t a gr­eat deal here that will be of much inte­rest to the average Folk Metaller, but don’t let that put you off giving it a chance as this is lik­ely to be one of the stand-out Metal alb­ums of 2022.

Tracklist

1. She
2. Weeping Iron tears
3. Moving On
4. The Ferryman
5. Shivering Deadly Cold
6. Transmigration of the Soul