Four years on from the astonishing and groundbreaking “Mӕre”, Austrian post black metallers return with a much-anticipated follow-up. It would be easy for them to simply copy the large-scale dynamics that made “Mӕre” such a word-of-mouth success, but instead, they move down a different path. There are similarities between the two records, but “Scorched Earth” has a different aesthetic and feel. It is slower and more thoughtful, and whilst there remains brittle raw brutality, it is more dialled back than before. It is still a long album, clocking in at just over an hour, but there is now more of a feel of consistency. It lacks the highs of “Mӕre”, but also avoids the lows. Instead, we get a focused and dependable album that pushes deep into its dark mythology.

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