From the crypts of the Greek black metal underground, Temple of Katharsis return with their second full-length album, “Worshipers Of The Ancient Necromancy” — a horrific descent into forgotten rites, occult forces, and mystic rituals.

Temple of Katharsis unleash an ominous work, raw and honest, carrying not only the name but also the true culture of the underground sound. Their sophomore effort is a blasphemous invocation, an unholy ritual that calls upon the faithful to take part. For all those who seek sacrilegious screams, dense darkness, and the damp stench of the crypts, “Worshipers of the Ancient Necromancy” is exactly that, transcribed into music.

Relentless and feral as ravenous darkness itself, “Obscure Black Oath” opens the ritual. With a speed black metal introduction, raw and razor-sharp, combined with doom-laden, almost Sabbathian shades, the album’s instrumental intro acts as a warm-up — or rather, as the initiation ceremony before we are allowed to enter deeper, darker chambers.

The second track, “Season of the Bloodhunt”, blends a medieval black metal spirit with thrash-infused riffs, slowly building an atmosphere that creeps forward and gradually surrounds you. Temple of Katharsis show little interest in experimentation, remaining firmly devoted to tradition and orthodox black metal. It is raw, filthy, and honestly magnificent, with every riff sounding as if it has crawled up from an even darker abyss.

Thus, “Worshipers of the Ancient Necromancy” stands as an old-school album presented in a modern form. Tracks such as “Celebrating the Coronation of Grand Evil”, driven by blackened speed metal riffs; the incantatory “Tainaros”, the only song with Greek lyrics, functioning like a hymn invoking ancient gods; the dark, otherworldly yet melodic title track “Worshipers of the Ancient Necromancy”, distinguished by its blasphemous atmosphere; and “The Sorrowful Path of Death”, where subtle gothic touches complete the puzzle, all embody the Greek black metal sound. It is the sound of the 1990s — the era that shaped the black metal scene in Greece and left an indelible mark on the global black metal landscape.

As with the preceding tracks, “The Darkness Which Swallows the Dawn” is ominous, imbued with doom influences and a rough, decaying feeling that seeps through, before the sound returns to its orthodox roots, bringing back that vintage filth which, let’s be honest, we all love and seek in releases like this.

Finally, “8 Horned Entity” lurks at the end. The album’s closing track seals the work with a blend of early Mayhem and Dissection, while remaining Temple of Katharsis to the bone. Undoubtedly one of the strongest songs on the album, “8 Horned Entity” is the crushing finale that ends this ritual in the dirtiest — and best — possible way.