The combination of Black Metal and Thrash Metal is a mutual pairing that goes as far back as early BATHORY, SODOM and DESTRUCTION. Whether the balance tips in favor of one genre over the other, it doesn’t matter, the combination of Black Metal and Thrash Metal is so consistently potent that, year after year, strong releases comprised of the hybrid make their way into the underground. TRANSILVANIA existed in one form or another dating back to 2010, undergoing a series of name changes before settling on its current incarnation in 2014. Their debut effort, “Morbid Majesty”, launched the band’s sonic campaign in 2015. Since then, the band has produced a split and two full-lengths over the last decade, culminating in “Magia Posthuma”, the band’s newest effort, issued through Irish label Invictus Productions. With 8 songs at 47 minutes, “Magia Posthuma” is a cohesive and methodically constructed endeavor, combining prominent writing and skillful composing. Like the relationship between a rifle and bullet, TRANSILVANIA employs a lethal demonstration of the rhythmic pulverization of Thrash Metal to the spiritual blight and aesthetic of Black Metal, with an end result that can only ever be destructive. With a tonal palette reminiscent of 1990s DISSECTION and skillful composing on par with later-era ABSU or GOSPEL OF THE HORNS, TRANSILVANIA not only craft a solid record with “Magia Posthuma”, they deliver the best record of their career up to this point. Austria is home to numerous large scale Black Metal acts – BELPHEGOR, SUMMONING, ABIGOR, DORNENREICH – and TRANSILVANIA is steadily gaining ground on them. The title track opens the record, exploring an ambient intro phrase before moving into mid-tempo Black Metal. The production opens up, showing off a throwback guitar tone that would have fit perfectly in the late 1990s, thudding bass drums and popping snare roll off with a slight reverberation, vocals are scowled and well placed within the mix. The song gains momentum, switching over to a thrashier delivery that is both crushing and sonically haunting, a brief lead flares into existence and writhes in agony for several measures, eventually resolving back into the mid-tempo Black Metal it began with. Heavy hitters, tracks such as ‘Set The Tombs On Fire’, litter the album like stab wounds, entering on driving power chords and primal drumming. Employing multiple guitar techniques adds texture and depth of character to the narrative, with funereal single-note tremolo hissing over the top of a grinding chord progression. Blast beats keep the song in constant states of movement, barreling forth into various states of agitation and tension. A hammering rhythm lays the backdrop for a screaming solo in the middle of the track. There is nothing but pure appreciation for the art of composing, keeping things logical and simple, letting the music and creative input stand on its own with no corny smoke and mirrors. ‘Hallows Of The Heir’ is the shortest track on “Magia Posthuma”, serving as a late bout of destruction deep within the innards of the record, exploring the fastest rhythms and tempos up to this point in the listening experience. Anthemic, crushing and straight-to-the-point ripping Black Metal. Closing the album on a stellar note is ‘The Faustian Bargain’. Keeping things tempered in terms of delivery allows the band to explore guitar riffs in dancing conjunction with one another, while moving into intense phrases of high-speed blasting to add contrast to the finished expression. Black Metal in 2026 is loaded with cliches, bad hybrids and oversaturation. TRANSILVANIA cut through that cacophony and waste to land with an impact in the form of “Magia Posthuma”, an honest demonstration of both old school and current-era creative mentalities backed by musicians that are skilled in both execution and arrangement. A worthy listen that will stick around for a few spins, “Magia Posthuma” injects fresh life into the Black Thrash canon, a true musical gem that deserves the international attention it received up to this point. For more information on TRANSILVANIA, check out www.facebook.com/transilvaniaaustria. For information on Invictus Productions, see www.facebook.com/invictusproductions.