Beleth's Trumpet - Chapel of Bones

Beleth’s Trumpet is a Finnish black metal band that formed in 2023.  Their latest release is their full-length debut album, “Chapel of Bones.”  In 2024, they released a demo as well.

I love black metal but prefer stuff that sounds a bit different than the standard garden (an evil garden) variety blackened tapestry.  However, I don’t discount the more straightforward stuff out of hand, either.   Beleth’s Trumpet’s "Chapel of Bones,” is decidedly one of a narrow vision in terms of presenting itself as anything other than checking off the blackened boxes of the genres.  However, if you’re going to do something then do it well.  In the case of this album, it’s done goddamn great.  Hail satin.  And while you're sitting on that lovely soft material, put this album on and then hail Satan. 

It might worship on the altar of no-frills black metal but two things make this album really stand out for me: the production and the atmosphere.  While I wouldn’t call this raw, it’s definitely unpolished with just the right amount of grit to make it sound evil without it also sounding like evil taking a dump in hell’s toilet.  The vocals are perfect for the style; they aren’t too screechy but are plenty biting.    Without the use of keys, ambiance or long passage the band is able to create a sulphuric atmosphere with nothing more than their hellish tone.  There is a sense of that classic Finnish melancholy, but it goes hand in hand with their blackened misanthropy.

The opening track, “Triumphant Voice of Beleth,” opens with really great riffs and drums that keep the beat going without being monotonous.  The vocals cast out blasphemies like incantations, their magic infecting its way through the song.  The guitars get more urgent as the song goes further, like racing by hell winds to a finish line that only ends at the void.

The title track is one of my favorites on the album, in no small part due to the bass which is surprisingly audible. The moods of this one consist of “I hate your face,” and “I hate the idea of your face.”  After the halfway mark, the riffs get a little crazy and off kilter, like a maddening hum that grows louder while staying hidden in the shadows.

The longest song is “Clandestine” and it’s a banger through and through.  Some of the best riffs are found throughout its runtime.  The vocals are especially searing, and the drums go through moments of pure hammering fury, that both compliment the song and drive it further into abyssal depths.  Near the end, the speed kicks up several dozen notches as the band drives this one hard and fast. 

The final song, “Black Light,” is a solid finisher for the album because it’s heavy on atmosphere, capping off a strong run of songs. This one jams pretty damn hard for the first minute before the band settles into a hypnotic groove. 

All in all, Beleth’s Trumpet’s “Chapel of Bones,” is a black metal album that isn’t going to win any prizes for originality or expanding the genre’s boundaries but there is something to be admired for how zeroed in they are at providing a black metal holocaust.  

Rating: Solid