Dungeonsoft from the depths of the forgotten mall.

Hellveterra is the latest brainchild of Belgian producer Zer0 れい and his second vinyl release to date. Taking a sharp thematic and sonic departure from early 2019’s “ブラックマジック (Black Magic)”, which had heavy oriental themes and a more cinematic approach, Zer0 れい now sinks his teeth into the controversial legacy of the Dungeon Synth genre.

The album combines heavy swathes of Dark Ambient with a playful yet respectful take on Black Metal riffage that eschews guitars in favor of wobbly, gritty and sometimes playful synth chords. Underneath these dungeonous riffs there swirls a myriad of new-age inspired pads, panflutes and chiptune-esque accents.

Taking mixing cues from lo-fi Symphonic Black metal albums such as the early works of Summoning, the album rounds out with cavernous layered drums to borrow and steal from both classic electronic drummachines, ethereal percussion and the grittiest of 32-bit era retrogames.

Legendary producer t e l e p a t h テレパシー能力者 took up the challenge of mastering this unholy marriage and managed to polish all this up to a mirror sheen.