(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. Continue reading »
