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AGARTHA
The Hidden EP

No Remorse (2025)
Rating: 7.5/10

Six years after forming, the ex-Grave Ritual and Abysmal Lord duo of Ryan Evans (vocals) and Jeremy Berry (guitar and drums) bring forth The Hidden, a rather emphatic return that gets the heart thumping, the swords clashing and the flags waving.

If you like metal such as Eternal Champion then I have no doubt that you’ll be more than happy to gallop along to this latest release from New Orleans, Louisiana-based Agartha. After a cinematic intro, ‘Silver King’ majestically strides like a sublime mix of Iron Maiden, Mercyful Fate and the aforementioned Eternal Champion. It’s confident and anthemic as Evans commands the audible stage, booming out his tales amidst a tidy, mid-tempo slope.

There’s nothing overtly fancy going on here, just traditional heavy metal recycled from halcyon days, but what I really like about the EP is its grittier edge. There’s a brace of songs in the centre, ‘The Hidden’ and ‘South Flight’, which boast more of a New Wave Of British Heavy Metal-style. They are slower but darker, bereft of glint and instead bringing a stormier and sturdier march.

‘The Hidden’ is built on a stark hard rock riff and stripped back drum, while the vocals have more of an obscure echo as if Agartha have just stepped out of 1982. It’s such a cool organic song though, mirrored by the plodding ‘South Flight’. This time the vocals have a bit more of a scowl and the drums bring extra punch, although the demo-styled rawness gives the twosome a British sound. ‘Into Hyperborea’ drips with Gothic nuances where again there’s that rainy yet ancient effect going on as the vocals flirt with new wave tendencies.

There’s a strong Iron Maiden-like melody throughout, the duo really tapping into and channelling that early 80s mood, subtly tip-toeing over punk, gothic and new wave with an intriguing end result.

Neil Arnold

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