With House of the Black Geminus, Akhlys returns to follow up 2020's excellent Melinöe, a record lauded for its huge, devastating songs and nightmare-inducing atmosphere. House of the Black Geminus very much continues in the same vein, with Naas Alcameth and his ensemble unleashing wave after wave of deep, cosmic fury for 53 full minutes.

The songs on this album are characterized by massive-sounding guitars and drums enveloped in menacing, dark synths that may slowly build into an onslaught of riffs and blast beats, as in the opener "The Mask of Night-Speaking," or launch into all-out assaults, such as on "Maze of Phobetor" and "Sister Silence, Brother Sleep." In addition to the riffing that makes you feel as if trapped in a swarm of hornets on nearly every song, I want to specifically highlight the drumming on this record. The drums are very prominent in the mix, driving the songs at a relentless, punishing pace with hypnotic intensity. Eoghan shines particularly bright on "Brother Silence, Sister Sleep," elevating a great song to pure excellence with killer fills and clever use of the cymbals, creating hooks in an otherwise supremely chaotic soundscape.

As Akhlys do what they do so well, this record is hard to criticize. However, "Through the Abyssal Door," the slowest song on the album, carries on for a little too long and does not evoke feelings of being utterly crushed to the same extent as the other songs. Coupled with the nearly 5-minute ambient interlude "Black Geminus," the middle part of the album drags for longer than it needs to, causing my attention to wander before being pulled back in by the aforementioned "Brother Silence, Sister Sleep" and the excellent finisher "Eye of the Daemon - Daemon 1."

To sum up, with House of the Black Geminus, Akhlys has composed a furious, wall-of-sound-like black metal release that wraps you in a bone-chilling atmosphere. It is not an easy listen, but given some well-deserved attention the quality is undeniable.