The Danish melodic black metal band Lotan, whose lineup shares members with Vanir, got off to an excellent start in 2021 with a pair of EPs, and we happily premiered songs from both of those. Now they have a debut self-titled album on the way, and in early December of last year and then again in January, they released two singles from the album, both of them with lyric videos. Today we present a third one, which will be released as a single this coming Friday, and it only confirms the album’s harrowing and haunting power.
The first of the singles, “Ignis“, blazes in daunting grandeur yet feels forlorn and even anguished. The vocals are scorching, the drums bring the thunder, and the song manages to dig its talons under the skin despite how emotionally unsettling it is. There’s also a moody and mysterious digression near the middle that adds to the song’s allure.
The second one, “Ashera“, is another head-hooker, this time intertwining jolting and feverishly swarming riffs, maniacal drum blasting, and melodic elements that create a downtrodden and dismal mood — with vocals that are again absolutely incinerating.
Which brings us to the song we present today through another lyric video.
Unexpectedly, “Diabolis Victor” begins with an ethereal overture of tinkling piano melody set against a shimmering ambient backdrop, but Lotan blast away that soft seduction with the first scalding words: “War, Famine and Genocide! Humanity’s true crime shall forever repeat itself until the end of time!” The drums hammer the tirade home, surrounded by a conflagration of riffing that sweeps the senses with sounds both grand and beleaguered.
The character of the song’s infernal narrator soon becomes evident, explaining the vitriolic rage of the vocals. As a chorus of voices savagely proclaims “We are at war!“, the music segues into a grim, lumbering march before then resuming its blazing and battering onslaught.
The music morphs again, becoming even more frighteningly magisterial, in time to introduce an exotic serpentine guitar melody and a subsequent solo that seems both frenzied and tormented. But the song’s throughline is one of imperious fire and fury, and it returns to that — though with a reprise of that opening piano melody at the end.
Lotan‘s debut album will be released by UPRISING! Records on March 31st on noble black vinyl, as well as digitally. All the relevant links are below.
PRE-ORDER THE LP:
https://targetshop.dk/vare/lotan-lotan-lp
PRE-ORDER DIGITAL:
https://targetgroup.bandcamp.com/album/lotan
STREAM THE SINGLE:
https://orcd.co/ltn-diabolis
FOLLOW LOTAN:
https://www.facebook.com/lotanband
https://www.instagram.com/lotan_band/
Photo Credit: Natasha Dumbledear Allen
