A magickal work of nightsky majesty, simmering celestial aggression, and the most potent tenets of '90s Scandinavian black metal, Potestas Magicum Diaboli breathes and billows a blast-from-the-past classicism that nevertheless manages to sound fresh among the modern BM landscape, outstripping the prevailing trends and the pretenders who enable them. Perhaps more importantly, it is the work of two women - a rarity in black metal, both past and especially present - who hereby render gender an irrelevant argument. Simply, Potestas Magicum Diaboli stands on its own, towering and terrifying. A cross-continental entity, ASAGRAUM was founded in the autumn of 2015 by vocalist/guitarist Obscura and drummer T. Kolsvart. The original intent was to play pure, Satanic black metal, in all its aspects, with the old-school feeling of the eternal '90s greats but also with dark psychedelic influences. A three-track promo recording was released earlier this year, laying bare ASAGRAUM's aims and accordingly special sound. Wasting no time, Potestas Magicum Diaboli was then recorded, fleshing out further those aims into an eight-song, 44-minute work which maintains a fuller, more windswept totality. It heaves and weaves to both aggression and atmosphere, walking a delicate balance but always boldly. It is both unapologetically modern and authentically '90s. With anticipation high for the release of Potestas Magicum Diaboli, ASAGRAUM will be touring Europe later this year, utilizing a bass-player - either Mortifero or Makashanah - for live performances. Onstage, the band is equally deadly, proving their left-hand-path black art knows no boundaries. Until then, let Potestas Magicum Diaboli revive the old cult of the witches, radiating forever the black flame of Lilith.
