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Sometimes it takes 35 years to write your first—and final—statement. Swedish death/doom legends Eternal Darkness have returned from the grave only to immediately crawl back in, leaving behind their long-awaited, self-titled debut: a monolithic slab of subterranean misery out July 18 through Pulverised Records. And we’re streaming the entire record below.
Originally formed in 1990 in Eskilstuna, Sweden, Eternal Darkness built a cult reputation on the strength of two demos and one legendary EP before vanishing into obscurity in 1993. Riddled with tragedy—the murder of founding guitarist Jarmo Kuurola in 1995 and the passing of lead guitarist Toni Pietilä in 2014—the band remained dormant until 2019, when a reformed lineup began exhuming their long-buried riffs and finally constructing the full-length they were always meant to make.
That result is Eternal Darkness: eight new tracks of suffocating, riff-first death/doom that doesn’t flirt with atmosphere—it crushes you with it. Everything here is tuned to A for extra psychic weight. This isn’t gothic death/doom. It’s not pretty. It’s the sound of death as process—ritual, rot, grief, and complete obliteration.
“Make [Pesonen, drums] is a natural art director and our band leader, full of macabre ideas,” says bassist Jeff Hausel. “Peter [Bjärgö, producer and longtime friend] added another layer to the songs with brilliant samples, and we even invited Jasmine, a seven-year-old metal maniac, to play the flute of doom.”
Hauntingly, Bjärgö’s daughter Vendela passed away during the album’s recording, a tragedy that casts a deeper shadow across the album’s already cavernous tone. It’s fitting, then, that the band chose Triumph of Death, the famed 14th-century tapestry, for the cover. There are no clean endings here—just rot, mourning, and one final slab hurled in defiance at the world.
Featuring members of Unpure, Svartsyn, and Eternal Autumn, Eternal Darkness was recorded at Erebus Odora—formerly the band’s old K-13 rehearsal space—by Bjärgö himself, and stands as both a resurrection and an epitaph. It’s a crushing, purposeful send-off from a band that never got their due—until now.
Stream the full album below and preorder Eternal Darkness via Pulverised Records on CD, LP, and digital formats.
The post Album Premiere: Eternal Darkness – ‘Eternal Darkness’ appeared first on Decibel Magazine.
