Italian Vampyriia has been the dark brainchild of S.N. Noster since 2022, and it’s safe to say he hasn’t been idle. In a relatively short amount of time, the one-man project has released no fewer than seven offerings, including a full-length album that firmly established the foundation of his musical vision.
Now Vampyriia returns with a brand-new EP, released on cassette through Dutch label Void Wanderer Productions. This collaboration is no coincidence; the label is known for its preference for obscure and uncompromising underground black metal, and Vampyriia fits right in. On this new tape, the project sounds rawer and more vicious than ever, with a pitch-black atmosphere that clings to the bones and echoes influences from the second wave to more contemporary, nihilistic fury.
With his blend of raw Black Metal, heavy, brooding drones, and ominous layers of keyboards and soundscapes, S.N. Noster doesn’t just play music—he sculpts atmosphere. The result is a suffocating, almost ritualistic sonic experience that immediately reveals itself in the opening track Ghost of Moon and Cosmic Nebula. From the first notes, you’re plunged into a realm where the lines between reality and the arcane begin to blur. It’s clear that Vampyriia isn’t about straightforward aggression, but about creating an immersive and disquieting journey through shadow and void.
The references to Darkthrone, Bathory, and other foundational acts of the genre are not just name-drops—they’re echoes that reverberate through the sound. Raw riffs, lo-fi textures, and a sense of primal urgency are all present, but Vampyriia twists them into something more otherworldly. This becomes especially apparent on Visions of Grim Void Possession, where the swirling soundscape and haunting melodies are drenched in a sense of dread that’s hard to shake. It’s a track that showcases Noster’s talent for balancing ferocity with eerie restraint.
The EP closes with two particularly striking pieces. Both reaffirm the project’s core aesthetic, but it’s the vocals that truly stand out here—especially on The Infinite Melancholic Sadness. There, Noster’s voice channels a raw, tortured essence that is deeply reminiscent of Quorthon’s early work with Bathory, evoking the same kind of desolate majesty and spiritual ruin that defined the 1980s underground. It’s a fitting end to a release that doesn’t just revisit the past but drags it howling into the present, cloaked in darkness and reverence.
S.N. Noster masterfully weaves dread and mysticism into a coherent whole, and this EP is further proof — a dark gem within the European black metal scene that seeks out and transcends the boundaries between the earthly and the esoteric.
85/100
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