Founded in Basel in 2022, Swiss Black Metallers VÍGLJÓS have released their second full-length album, “Tome II: Ignis Sacer”, a follow-up to their 2024 debut, “Tome I: Apidæ”. VÍGLJÓS (old norse for the light which is just bright enough to be able to kill a man) consists of four members from Germany and Switzerland, wielding guitar, drums, mellotron and vocals. As evident in their first album, their style is firmly rooted in the second wave, but in this follow-up they infused their own personality with adding expressive synths and a mellotron for a warm, esoteric psychedelic feel. Themetically, this time they delve into the phenomenon of ergotism: poisoning, voluntary or involuntary, by the ingestion of the fungus Claviceps that grows in wheat. VÍGLJÓS sheds light on the subject, commenting: “The history of humanity and Claviceps is a story of creativity and pain. It goes back to medieval times and possibly even beyond. Various early psychedelic artists were deliberately poisoned with the fungus Claviceps to expand their minds and alter their reality. In this new record we wanted to honor the impact that Claviceps, and later the LSD, had and continue to have on the art, music, society, our self-image and medicine, as well as the terror and depravity they inflicted on us. Reflecting the themes, the songwriting throughout the record is a leap forward, with richer patterns and greater detail. From the moment the album kicks off with ‘Sowing’ and carries through into ‘A Seed Of Aberration’, ‘The Rot’, ‘Claviceps’, ‘Dellusions Of Grandeur’, ‘Decadency And Degeneration’, to the end with ‘Fallow – A New Cycle Begins’, the band showed maturity in their compositions. It gives away a raw, frigid essence of ’90s Black Metal with unexpected layers of synth, intricate tremolo picking, and even light infusions of Rock’n’Roll riffs and beats. These elements are all underpinned by hauntingly atmospheric mellotron tracks, adding a unique depth which suitably complement the central them of the record. The vocals, an unhinged and deranged howl, might be an acquired taste, but they work perfectly with the music. The guitars are especially noteworthy, frequently comes up with mind-bending riffs that help shape the songs atmosphere and the quite fascinating theme of the record. The production is clean, which possibly done intentionally to capture the band’s intense vision with also allowing the synths and melodies to take center stage. Adrian Smith’s stunning art and the layout of Luca Piazzalonga is visually astonishing and should give away the first impression on this record where the band has crafted interesting ideas that will stick in your head long after the record stops. Find out more about the band and label, here: www.facebook.com/vigljos, www.facebook.com/ladloproductions