Gehenna |Seen Through The Veils Of Darkness (The Second Spell) |Darkness Shall Rise Productions (Reissue/Remastered)

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

Gehenna formed in Stavanger, Norway in the early 90s and quickly carved their own grim corner of the second wave. In a scene overflowing with raw hostility and cold minimalism, they leaned into melody, atmosphere and dark grandeur without losing the venom. “Seen Through The Veils Of Darkness (The Second Spell)” stands as their first full length and the moment where everything snapped into place. Two years after their birth, Gehenna already sounded frighteningly mature, focused and hungry.

This album keeps their core identity intact while pushing every element harder. The melodic lines are sharper, more deliberate and soaked in a nocturnal aura that clings to every song. The symphonic edge is woven deep into the songwriting, not floating on top as decoration. Fast paced passages appear for the first time, injecting urgency and aggression without breaking the album’s cold flow. The result is black metal that cuts and seduces at the same time, icy but rich, vicious but carefully shaped.

What really hits is the level of composition. These songs are not thrown together blasts of chaos, they are carefully built spells with memorable structures and dark hooks that stick in your skull. There is an obvious leap forward here, not subtle, not minor, a massive growth in songwriting and vision in an absurdly short time. Every track adds another layer to the album’s bleak world, strengthening the atmosphere instead of diluting it.

The remaster by Patrick W. Engel at Temple Of Disharmony gives this classic the sound it always deserved. The power is clearer, the depth deeper, without stripping away its raw spirit. The luxurious hardcover digibook makes the experience even heavier, with a long interview and rare photos spread across a thick booklet. This reissue treats the album with the respect it has earned over decades of worship.

“Seen Through The Veils Of Darkness (The Second Spell)” is the album that locked Gehenna in as my favorite Norwegian black metal band, no debate. It is a towering example of symphonic black metal done right, dark, melodic, aggressive and timeless. A true genre landmark that still towers over countless later releases.

Score: 10.0