Gehenna |First Spell |Darkness Shall Rise Productions (Reissue/Remastered)

Release Date: 2025
Format: CD
Genre: Black Metal
Country: Norway

Gehenna formed in Norway in the early 90s, right when the second wave was sharpening its knives. Founded only a year before this EP, the band already sounded far older, colder and more malicious than their age suggested. After the demo “Black Seared Heart”, “First Spell” was the real declaration, the point where Gehenna stopped lurking in the shadows and stepped straight into the fire.

Released through Metalion’s Head Not Found label, “First Spell” hits with a nasty, frozen presence that still bites decades later. The songs drip with hostility and sorrow, not the melodramatic kind, but the kind that crawls under your skin and stays there. Titles like “The Shivering Voice Of The Ghost” and “Unearthly Loose Palace” are not poetic window dressing, they match the music’s sour atmosphere perfectly. Everything sounds committed to darkness, no playful edges, no relief, just a grim stare straight into the void.

A big part of what makes this EP so memorable is how the keyboards are used. Sarcana does not decorate the songs; the keys poison them, spreading a spectral fog over the riffs and vocals. The result is macabre, oppressive and strangely elegant in its own rotten way. These songs stick, not because they are catchy in a friendly sense, but because their melodies linger like bad thoughts you cannot shake.

The remaster by Patrick W. Engel gives the EP sharper definition without scrubbing away its filth. The luxurious digibook edition adds depth with interviews and rare photos, turning the release into a proper artifact rather than just a reissue. “First Spell” remains one of Norway’s strongest EPs, a short release with a long shadow, essential for anyone who takes black metal seriously and likes it dark, bitter and uncompromising.

Score: 8.5