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FURYCLAWS
Eternal Night

Hellenic Metal World (2025)
Rating: 6.5/10

I love being drawn into albums with rich, kaleidoscopic cover art. Sadly, that is not the case here as prolific Greek act FuryClaws grates my soul with another unwelcoming digitally crafted cover. But at least it’s better than the giant flaming cat which graced the last album, 2024’s Underworld.

With their fifth full-length platter in as many years, the trio of Panagioths H. (vocals), Aggelos T. (guitar and bass) and Babis A. (drums) embarks on a rather grey and icy (it’s that damn cover art!) venture combing the glaciers with their humourless mixture of black, death, heavy and power metal.

Even with its majestic melodies and sprawling cold grooves, Eternal Night just refuses to be inviting, unravelling as a thorny gauze of progressive angles and rainy rhythmic sheets. That’s not to say that the band doesn’t have much going on, far from it. For its 31 minute duration there are chilly groove metal passages entwined with brash and abrasive riffs which twist like black ice daggers into the heart.

From the opening narration of ‘Message’ through to the snarling mid-paced aggression of ‘Chasing The Light’ and into the sprawling glacial melody of ‘Queen Of Time’, and ending with the varying layers of ‘Lying Down In The Forest Deep’, there’s just so much to savour, but the lack of warmth dominates. However, FuryClaws, even with their silly moniker, are extremely talented, adept at constructing both soothing, tranquil passages alongside hateful, snarling wickedness.

Some of the content could easily suit a mid-to-late 90s black metal ethos, but as exampled on ‘Black Sun’ there are still the unexpected stark passages; the tap of an isolated drum, the mere tingle of guitar, all before nefarious rushes of permafrost are spawned.

‘Light The Darkness’ showcases the band’s softer side, this being a brooding ballad with clear vocals, but as the moon fog drifts across the surface of the black waters I’m left seeking solace in the warmth of flames. Still, Eternal Night is an intriguing album that probably deserves a higher rating, but not here.

Neil Arnold

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