“Human existence is merely an ephemeral curse. Soul, consciousness, flesh and bone are cosmically annihilated in the infinity of time”.
I knew nothing about Métely when I came across the announcement about the release of their debut demo tape. The Instagram post only mentioned some generic info about the musical concept, some photos with the tape and that was it. So what’s it all about, then?
Métely is an anonymous blackened death metal congregation, “featuring prominent individuals from the Hungarian underground. This five-track demo stands as a supplication to Death — it embodies the physical and cosmic annihilation of the flesh, the bones, and the soul“. The simple yet beautiful black and white cover, resembling an early medieval engraving from a decrepit religious manuscript stuck with me the moment I saw it. With that being said, I didn’t need any other info and bought the tape right away, as this sounded exactly like something right down my alley.
I forgot to mention that this EP was released on the 8th of July by the Greek label Death’s Ovations on white pro tapes, limited to 66 pieces. The j-card is simple yet effective and it comes with a hand-numbered inner card printed on 320gsm Khadi cotton handmade paper.
Even if rather short (it falls a bit under 20 minutes), this EP is right to the point and marks a perfect debut for an unknown band. The tape consists of 5 nameless songs, two of which, the Intro and the Outro, are instrumentals. The remaining 3 are the core of the material, but altogether, the 5 tracks create a disturbing soundtrack, perfectly suited for a nightly visit into a candlelit crypt.
With the exception of track I, where we have some sporadic blast beats, the overall rhythm is mostly mid tempo, dominated by an oppressive, doom ridden feeling of actual decay. “Felemelkedés” reeks of a morbid atmosphere from start to finish and the guitars bear their share of the “blame” for this as well. Their wailing, repetitive tone slowly builds up to an ominous feeling of something monstruous waiting to happen.
The vocals sound as if recorded in a ruined crypt by a possessed monk. There’s an evil reverb to them which makes them even more frightening if you put on the headset and turn off the lights. The fact that the lyrics are in Hungarian gives the songs an even mysterious and ominous feeling, as if G‘s ghoulish vocals speak forth ancient curses in forgotten tongues.
Every song falls right into place, nothing is left to chance on this EP. The songs, written between ’23 – ’24 and recorded in 2025, reek of a sepulchral atmosphere, so dense and chilling as a funeral fog unnaturally lingering in an abandoned crypt, where dessicated bodies lay on the ground in their eternal slumber. Production is very good and, even if it brings clarity to the table, it also maintains a much desired murkiness in the overall mix.
The demo repeats on both sides of the tape in a morbid loop that you just cannot escape from. Atmospheric, sinister, slow and suffocating, this debut material is definitely a strong start for a band which brings a real breath of (un)pure air in this wretched underground. Hope more will follow.
Métely – “Felemelkedés” Track List :
1. Intro
2. I
3. II
4. III
5. Outro
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