One of the many collectives in this category is the expanded Morbus Chron universe. These Swedes initially moved from classic death metal to Sweven, which eventually led to an even more progressive Sweven. Now, in a further evolution following the Law of Increasing Hippietude™, we arrive at Speglas . Although they predate Sweven by about five years, it took until now for their debut full-length album, Endarkenment, Being & Death, to be realized. Their goal of combining death and black metal with heavy metal, however, has remained the same throughout. With two degrees of personnel and sonic difference between Morbus Chron and Speglas, where has all this evolution led?
The Swedish presence in Speglas’s composition is felt from the start. Isak Rosemarin (Sweven, ex-Morbus Chron) serves as half of the guitar team and the entire vocal staff, giving the album a warm but powerful, raspy growl that often recalls Niilo Sevänen (Insomnium). Jesper Nyrelius’s drumming (Sweven) is varied and detailed (“The Spirit Postmortem,” “Hitherto Awry”). Alexi Hedlund’s guitar and Victor Berg’s bass round out the excellent performances on the record. Musically, Endarkenment… tends to fall somewhere between the blackened Iron Maiden approach of Inconcessus Lux Lucis (unfortunately not mentioned on the site until now) and the vastly underrated deathened dad rock of Chapel of Disease from 2024. Fans of Tribulation’s Down Below era may find plenty to like here too. The songwriting builds on their previous EPs —2015’s Birth, Dreams & Death and 2022’s Time, Futility & Death— but improves on all aspects, refining the vocals and creating a memorable dual guitar tandem (“Incessant Severance,” “Dies Mali”). And while the project’s vision long predates Sweven, its arrangement inevitably ends up feeling somewhat distant (“Dearth”).
Endarkenment, Being & Death flows seamlessly from atmospheric to intense across various styles and tempos. The Iron Maiden sounds are flawless throughout the album’s dual harmonic guitar (“Dearth,” “Rage upon the Dying Fire”), of course, but they don’t carry the record on their own. Gorgeous clean guitar parts (“Ailing,” “Dearth”) and sadboi tremolos (“Dies Mali”) accompany the excellent rhythmic and guitar efforts elsewhere. Parts of “The Endarkenment” even resemble Alcest through the fantastic post-black direction of Spiritual Instinct. All of this adds up to Speglas being progressive without hindering the music. What’s more, the excellent production work only elevates the band’s excellent stylistic choices. The placement of drums and bass in the mix by Simon Söderberg (whose production credits include, paradoxically, early Ghost) deserves special mention, as it makes an already good set of instruments sound incredible. Although it isn’t a complex or multi-layered album, the combination of both the composition and the depth of the production creates a remarkably repeatable experience.
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The careful pacing allows Speglas to complete their experiment with a triumphant bang instead of a whimper. Although the album could benefit from showing more teeth and mettle in its more aggressive guise, the album’s finale with “Dies Mali” and “Rage upon the Dying Fire” is a cornerstone that’s hard to dispute. It wouldn’t surprise me if both end up among my finalists for “Song of the Year”. As for their softer side, the beauty of “Woe” and “Ailing” won’t change the minds of people who are diametrically opposed to intros and interludes. Some will say Speglas’s style is too watered down, others may think it isn’t watered down enough. But I think Endarkenment… achieves an excellent balance between the two, with the music being both heavy and beautiful, intricate and addictively catchy as a result.
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You don’t need to reinvent the wheel to create something that gives you a fresh and exemplary feeling. Speglas took a long time to perfect their compositional prowess for the debut album, and it paid off. Endarkenment, Being & Death achieves its primary goal as an excellent example of progressive, deathened and blackened heavy metal. Despite the fact that it features no cowbell, I believe it will be hard for future 2026 albums to surpass this at the end of the year. As the latest recent n00b who hadn’t yet broken the Score Safety Counter, I’m glad I held out so long for something notable. And I wasn’t even originally in charge of covering it!
Rating: Excellent
DR: 8 | Format reviewed: 320 kbps
Label MP3: Trust No One Recordings | Websites Bandcamp: Bandcamp | Facebook | Releases Instagram worldwide: February 27, 2026
