OF THE MUSES - Senhal Digi-CD

Of the Muses plays blackgaze, with touches of folk on the edges, in a way that is simultaneously familiar and unique. Being a one-woman black metal project is undoubtedly going to lead to comparisons with Myrkur, but that’s actually not a bad place to start—Senhal feels a bit like early Myrkur meets Alcest. It’s emotional, not super heavy, and unmistakably a work of black metal. The album is dominated by shrieks, blast beats, and tremolo riffs, but is produced and mixed in such a way as to feel vaguely comforting in spite of them. The opening minutes to the album are a perfect encapsulation of this; “I” begins with soft strings, a faded-in tremolo, and a sense of calm before Cristina Bombi tears it all apart with a vicious assault—in the span of three seconds, the song transforms without changing, entering black metal territory without ever losing that initial melody that offered such peace.