Album Review: Hecate Enthroned - The Corpse of a Titan, A Lament Long Buried (M-Theory Audio, 2026)
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Written: 24th May 2026
Formed more than thirty years ago, Hecate Enthroned can be considered veterans of the UK black metal scene. With several line-up changes (although importantly three core members remain from the nineties), the band have traversed some tricky times but the introduction of Joe Stamps on vocals for 2019’s Embrace of the Godless Aeon steadied the ship and produced an almost unanimously very well-received album. Now, seven years later, the band return with their seventh full-length The Corpse of a Titan, A Lament Long Buried. Regarding the new release, bassist Dylan Hughes states, “These are huge, epic, hard-hitting songs carved in the traditional Hecate Enthroned way with a menacing veil delivered with a crisp punch. Lyrically based around ancient British myths and legends.”
The short introductory track, Adar Rhiannon (named after three magical birds from one of the earliest prose stories in Britain, whose song can wake the dead and lull the living to sleep), sets an eerie scene, with mystical synths and spoken word that invite us to draw nearer and listen to the tales about to unfold. This merges directly into the expansive and darkly cinematic Spirits Stir Within Our Ancestors Tombs. Immediately, Joe Stamps proves why has been such a valuable addition to the line-up with a spectacular elongated banshee-like scream that morphs into a deeper growl. Full of foreboding synths and seething, restless guitars, this is what Hecate Enthroned do best. Matt Holmes’s blast beats are ferocious and his partnership with Dylan Hughes provides a colossal foundation for the band’s towering musical template. They bring variety to the song with a central acoustic section that contains some wonderful melodic guitar. Lyrically, Spirits Stir Within Our Ancestors Tombs suggests the past is never gone and ancient voices still echo, warning of the cyclical nature of life and death. Ornate figures with hands of stone / Pull apart the earth / Exhume a cache of aged bones / Leaves of the trees wither and fall / Naked remains / Appearing almost skeletal.
The Arcane Golem - which portrays nature as a living, thinking entity - is initially forged from monolithic riffs and pounding intermittent drums as if a titan is taking its first faltering steps. This is soon replaced by surging and turbulent riffs while macabre orchestral synths encircle the rest of the band. Clearly, Hecate Enthroned have carefully considered the arrangements here and the balance of the instruments is just about perfect. Each element contributes something completely different but at no point does one threaten to engulf the other. Stamps’ vocals sit well within the mix and he moves from screams to almost death-metal gutturals with ease.
In complete contrast, Steed of the Still Water begins in an elegantly restrained fashion with a more pastoral approach. For the first two minutes, acoustic guitars and violin sit beneath the vocal shrieks, creating a juxtaposition of the ancient origins of Hecate Enthroned’s stories and the modern metal palette on which they are created. A diverse range of movements (including frenzied black metal, a groove-laden chorus of sorts and a piano-led segment) all build towards a compelling conclusion. A cautionary tale about human arrogance, it shows how pride leads to destruction. Beneath the cosmic ballet of stars / Before the break of the copper sun / Let us speak of the foolish deeds of man and his kingdom.
Pwca (a reference to a spirit or goblin in Celtic folklore) is a beautifully constructed track that begins with lamenting piano and sinister guitar as whispered, distant spoken word weaves a tale that reflects on the passing of seasons and how nature eventually reclaims everything that once lived. Be still as the night time air / Let the fae folks choir / Sing us to sleep / As the leaves of Autumn / Fall to the ground / A dance of descent / To be reclaimed by the earth once more. Serving as a moment of respite in the middle of the album, its mythic, almost sorrowful atmospheres show another side to the band and it is quite wonderful.
Deathless in the Dryad Glade – one of the songs already released - begins with brooding, chilling guitar and Pete White’s spectral synths, once again making effective use of whispered spoken voice before suddenly exploding with abrasive riffs and scathing vocals. My eyes glistened before such beauty / Crystallised in the night time air / And the wisp danced between the trees / In hypnotic ignition / Her light deafened the stars safe guidance. Explaining the meaning behind the lyrics, Joe Stamps states, "Deathless in the Dryad Glade is a chronicle of being led astray by malevolent woodland entities. It is a tale of cosmic horror and a transformation where one becomes 'one with nature' in the most unsettling and permanent of ways." An aggressive and menacing track, it becomes majestic and cavernous, only occasionally slowing the tempo and even here Stamps’ vocals enthral and entrance. This continues on A Gallery of Rotten Portraits which shifts between blackened death, sweepingly huge keyboard chords and a slower gothic-tinged segment that is seismic enough to shake mountains. It is a brilliant one-two of songs that maintains the album’s momentum during its second half.
Penultimate track The Boreal Monastery tells of a sacred natural place where beauty and decay co-exist, reflecting the temporary nature of life. And dance do the atomies / Upon a stage encircled by stones / A theatre of agony resigned / To a gradual defeat. It is another example of the tightly honed songwriting that characterises The Corpse of a Titan, a Lament Long Buried. While several tracks exceed seven minutes, no track outstays its welcome and the caustic power and sheer scale of much of The Boreal Monastery does not appear jarring alongside the calm introduction and outro that bookend the song.
Into a Vale of Endless Snow is yet another example of the epic auras promised by Dylan Hughes. Guitar duo Nige Dennen and Andy Milnes combine with tight, visceral riffs determined to bring the album to an all-enveloping conclusion. Making use of a significant layering in their music, there is also enough space for listeners to pick out each individual element. As a tangent, there is a drum pattern in the latter half of the track that, when combined with the synths, instantly reminds me of the theme from The Terminator. However, as an ending to the album, Into A Vale of Endless Snow is a monumental conclusion.
After a seven-year wait, The Corpse of a Titan, A Lament Long Buried proves more than worthy of the time invested, delivering one of the strongest records in Hecate Enthroned’s catalogue. Joe Stamps not only secures his place in the line-up but elevates the material throughout, offering a commanding and versatile performance that brings both intensity and nuance. Across the album, there is a clear sense of a band moving with confidence and pride. Nevertheless, their distinct sound means that is unlikely to convert those previously unmoved by their music, although new listeners more attracted to the grandiose, symphonic side of black metal will find much to draw them in. For those already aligned with what they do, this is a powerful, assured and thoughtfully executed return that, without doubt, ranks among their most compelling work. Exhilarating. Unyielding. Resplendent.
The Corpse of a Titan, A Lament Long Buried is released on 29th May 2026
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