(written by Islander)
Long ago, in 2005 to be precise, the Greek band Order of the Ebon Hand embarked on an ambitious project, the goal of which was to explore each card in the Tarot deck through the perspectives of black metal. In that year, which arrived eight years after their debut album The Mystic Path to the Netherworld, they released XV: The Devil, the first card they drew from the deck. Fourteen years later, with only a couple of splits and compilation appearances to fill the gap, they released VII: The Chariot.
Obviously, Order of the Ebon Hand don’t work quickly. But the unhurried nature of their artistry may be a vital part of what has made their music so extraordinary. We attempted to capture what they rendered on those first two albums in the Tarot sequence by describing the songs as “beautifully crafted and expertly executed”, as “pageants of turmoil, torment, terror, and inconsolable anguish”, “warlike and violent” but also “manifestations of ravaging desolation”, experiences “of ominous foreboding and titanic ascension”, and “breathtaking extravaganzas” that “seem to be devouring the world in fire and flood”.
And now, six years after their last album, they’re on the verge of releasing XI: Justice, the third card in the band’s musical Tarot sequence, and we could hardly be more thrilled to premiere a song from it today.
We’ve been given this explanation of the album’s inspiration by the labels that will co-release it (Satanath Records and WP And RO Productions):
Justice is a card that symbolizes equality, honesty, impartiality and the triumph of the right in the law, as well as the consequences of one’s actions and decisions. In the upright position, it indicates the need to make balanced and rational decisions, carefully analyze the facts and be meticulous in all matters. In the inverted position, the card can foretell difficulties, fanaticism, bias and excessive strictness…
These are worthy sentiments at all times, but essential ones in our current time, when so many autocratic forces throughout the globe are bent on inverting the card of Justice.
In the context of the song “Heirs” that we’re premiering today, Order of the Ebon Hand again demonstrate their capacity to create music of blazing sweep and ravishing intensity. The music sears and shines, cascading over hammering drums, hurtling bass, and caustic screams in vast sonic waves that are simultaneously glorious and distressing, like harbingers of peril and fear.
Symphonic strings rise and fall, dramatically underlining those feelings of grief and suffering, even as the vocals pour out torrents of savage fury. Yet the resonance of the music subtly changes, becoming more panoramic and even pastoral as the drums vividly snap, climbing higher in brilliance and punctuated with bright darting tones.
The vast tidal forces in the music (in which close listening will detect elaborate textures) continue to take a listener’s breath away as they move the mood in differing directions. The vocals are also breathtaking, so unchained in their intensity as to be frightening. It is thus a stark surprise when the band suddenly choose to silence the rhythm section and their unhinged vocalist and end the song with gleaming clarion-like ambience and strange whistling and warbling tones — as unearthly in their own way as everything that precedes them.
ORDER OF THE EBON HAND:
Merkaal – lead vocals, bass
Obsidian– keyboards, piano, backing vocals
Asmodeus – rhythm & lead guitars, backing vocals
Deimos – drums, percussion
XI: Justice includes 11 songs and 70 minutes of furious and epic black metal. It was recorded and engineered by Asmodeus at Marble Mountain Music, and it was mixed and mastered by Victor Santura at Woodshed Studios. It features artwork by Nikos Aslanidis. It will be released on jewel-box CD with a 16-page booklet (1000 copies) and you can find pre-order info via the links below.
Also below we’re providing a stream of the new album’s first advance song, “Gorgon“.
PRE-ORDER:
https://satanath.bandcamp.com/album/sat407-order-of-the-ebon-hand-xi-justice-2025
WP AND RO:
https://www.facebook.com/WPandRO666
darkside666satan@gmail.com
ORDER OF THE EBON HAND:
https://orderoftheebonhand1.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/orderoftheebonhand666
https://www.instagram.com/order_of_the_ebon_hand