Suffering – Things Seen But Always Hidden
Suffering – Things Seen But Always Hidden
Apocalyptic Witchcraft
Release Date: 28/11/2025
Review by Metalphysicist
9/10
How can I ignore a band whose frontman’s moniker is Sturmgeist Fornicator Insultus!!! I perfectly understand the purpose of an artist to use an antonym in place of his birth name. It helps the guy to embody his persona of a kind of Black Metal Spirit who sings as a non-human entity. Or simply because he doesn’t want to be bothered in his daily life for being the vocalist of the UK’s depressive Black Metal band called Suffering.
On “Things Seen but Always Hidden”, the aforementioned vocalist, Sturmgeist Fornicator Insultus, joins forces with his band mates Aýdlig (guitars), Malleus (drums) and Inquinatus (bass) to deliver a great piece of obscure sonorities, evil howls and dense musical structures. Listening to “Things Seen but Always Hidden” as a whole, it felt to me like a vortex ferociously spinning around, filled with solitude screams and a “long cold winter” vibe, through which I was dragged, and, curiously, I felt good about going through this morbid event. If you enjoyed the Celtic Frost album “Monotheist”, you are probably going to like “Things Seen but Always Hidden”.
The songs on “Things Seen but Always Hidden” are similar, concerning the composition’s structures, which are very raw and with a doomed-like approach. Just hear the song ‘What Once Was Shall Be Again and What it is Should be No More’ and you are going to understand better what I am trying to describe. The opening track, ‘The House with the Red Door’, opens with an acoustic guitar strummed probably in D minor key, as a Black Metal ambient pace should sound.
On “Things Seen but Always Hidden”, you either get connected to the tormented sonority and misanthropic rites, or you should just give it up. Suffering isn’t a band shaped to please you – and neither to Black Metal Atmosphere fans, like me. They do what they are supposed to do, and the obscure statement on “Things Seen But Always Hidden”, non-negotiable. Take it or leave it.
TRACKLISTING:
01. The House With The Red Door
02. Enthralled
03. The Chamber Of Breathtaking Delights
04. Consorting With The Devil
05. What Once Was Shall Be Again And What Is Shall Be No More
06. Apocrypha Through The Keyhole
07. Hell On Earth New Eden
08. Behind The Green Door
LINE-UP:
Sturmgeist Fornicator Insultus – Vocals
Aýdlig – Guitars
Malleus – Drums
Inquinatus – Bass
LINKS:
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