Sammas’ Equinox + Emanating Void – Temples Of Ice – Split EP Review

Finnish shadow-tyrants SAMMAS’ EQUINOX and EMANATING VOID have joined forces on a brand-new split 7″ under the title Temples Of Ice, to be released on January 31st via SIGNAL REX.

With Sammas’ Equinox’s the spectral two-part “Glaciers in the Somber Night” on Side A and Emanating Void’s “Crystallised in Superiority” on Side B, this split is over in a flash but well worth a black metal aficionados time!

Sammas’ Equinox may be fairly predictable up until the halfway mark but their blackened attack soon enters a ‘spacier’ sphere whereby “Glaciers in the Somber Night” metamorphoses into a futuristic, ambient excursion into more progressively peculiar realms. It’s as though Sammas’ Equinox are purposefully grounded before taking flight and exploring the glaciers found on Neptune as opposed to Earth. Surprising and intriguing, there’s elements of Behreit at work here and, as a whole, the track is an engrossing listen. 8/10

Alternatively, Emanating Void have an altogether dirtier groove going on and are far more faithful to the raw black metal usually expected from splits like this. Ugly as fuck and lo-fi to hell, Emanating Void are a far more direct proposition whose black metal qualifies as a grim blizzard of alternating tempos and icy domains. 6/10