Yoth Iria’s third full-length album, titled Gone With The Devil, is released on May 8, 2026 via Metal Blade Records and looks like the point where the band decides to stare both its past and its future in the face. A record made with ambition, confidence and above all with a clear intention to leave its mark on modern Greek black metal.
Yoth Iria themselves had stated it before a single note of the album was even heard:
“This time we entered the studio with a clear intention to create a landmark record for the band.”
And the truth is that it’s hard to question that statement. From the first Under His Sway EP in 2020 to today, Yoth Iria have never shown any inclination to rest on their laurels. On the contrary, each release worked as one more step toward something bigger, more mature and more personal.
At the center of it all, of course, is Mutilator (Jim Patsouris ). From the days of Black Church and the first era of Rotting Christ and Varathron to the creation of Yoth Iria, Mutilator is one of the people who shaped the core of the Greek black metal sound. He could easily live only through the weight of his history. Instead, he chose to keep creating. And Gone With The Devil looks exactly like the moment where that journey reaches a new peak.
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Yoth Iria don’t look back with nostalgia. They stand on their roots, but move forward with determination.
The first taste of the album came with “The Blind Eye of Antichrist” and essentially worked as the record’s official statement of intent. The track is partly based on the Serbian religious hymn “Pobedna Pesma” by bishop Nikolaj Velimirović and its Byzantine/Mediterranean melody blends chillingly well with the black metal underpinning of the composition. The result is almost hypnotic.
Personally I lost count of the times it played on repeat from the day it was released. Especially that lead part that strongly recalls the Dead Poem era is one of those moments that haunt you for hours. And such guitar melodies are everywhere throughout the album.
Yoth Iria achieve something very difficult here: they use the traditional Greek black metal aesthetic without sounding trapped in the past. On the contrary, the music evolves naturally, bringing folk, heavy metal, gothic and Oriental elements into the composition without anything seeming foreign or contrived.
“Woven Spell of a Demon” is a prime example of this balance. Its melodies seem to come straight from the Mediterranean and the Balkans, while the riffing remains absolutely black metal at its core.
Similarly, “Give Em My Beautiful Hell” builds gradually, leaving room for both the main riff and the lead guitar parts to breathe. The duo of Nikolas Perlepe and Naberius do great work throughout the record, offering some truly inspired moments.
And then comes “Once In A Blue Moon”.
Perhaps the album’s finest moment. Pompous, dramatic and deeply melodic, with a refrain that stays etched in your mind from the very first listen. The track’s main guitar theme is one of those moments that remind you why Greek black metal gained a distinctive identity in the first place.
A new dawn will rise, from the ash and the gloom
Await the rebirth, once in a blue moon.
It’s also worth lingering on the chemistry between Mutilator and Perlepe as the main composers. Their different musical approaches not only don’t clash, they work complementarily, creating a record with pluralism and cohesion at the same time.
“Dare To Rebel” moves more straight in structure, with strong orchestral parts that even touch on a Laibach aesthetic, while Mutilator’s bass lines give the track a distinctive pulse. In general the bass throughout the album has a huge presence and works as a core element of the sound’s identity.
On “I, Totem” the Oriental elements interweave with riffs that strongly recall the Fifth Illusion era, while Vongaar delivers one of the record’s most impressive drum performances. The track transforms completely from the middle onward, proving that progressive ideas can work excellently within black metal forms when there’s substance.
He’s clean vocals on “3AM” give an almost gothic character to the composition, while on “Blessed Be He Who Enters” he offers one of the most imposing performances of the entire album. One of those tracks that stick in your mind on first listen and take you straight back to the golden era of ’96.
“End of Known Civilization” is built on a galloping, epic guitar theme that drives the track to continuous climax. The leads, the drums and its symphonic finale work exemplarily, giving the song an almost cinematic character.
And somewhere there we reach “Harut, Government, Fallen”.
A true black metal epic with a clear Non Serviam era aura. One of those tracks that seem born for live performance and that will likely develop into a key reference point for the band in the coming years.
Gone With The Devil is Yoth Iria’s most mature and complete record to date. An album that manages to honor the Greek black metal legacy without being trapped by it. Melodic, dark, imposing and full of personality, it proves that the “black flame” still burns strong.
And if someone in the future asks for a single record to get to know Yoth Iria, the answer will be easy:
Gone With The Devil . So Far…
Kostas
