Lamp of Murmuur – The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy

Metalcatto

It’s so frustrating when I get a promo in my mailbox but simply don’t have enough days to review it before it’s out. Anyway, many of our followers have already given their takes on this album. Full disclosure: I had no clue who Lamp of Murmuur was or why so many nerds were hyped about The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy. And if I’m even more honest, this year’s pure Black Metal hasn’t impressed me much. But that doesn’t mean we can’t dream, right? I’m ready to be converted into something else.

Dreaming is what would happen if Emperor, Thy Catafalque, and Blut Aus Nord somehow agreed to make an album together and—against all laws of the universe—their visions aligned coherently. That would never happen in real life, so Lamp of Murmuur is the closest we’re going to get. The first half of the album made me think this is what Dimmu Borgir would sound like if there was actual artistic commitment left. Dreaming encapsulates something most Black Metal bands have lost: a sense of mystery. We’re trapped in a mythological, ethereal world full of symbols and implicit messages. It’s truly a dreamy album, even if it doesn’t feel like that at first.

Some will be fooled into believing this album is just blasting traditional Black Metal, but the longer you stick with it, the more you realize it has layers of complexity. Details become increasingly apparent. While most bands in the genre stick to the same cheese-grater riffs, Lamp of Murmuur is capable of transforming as each track unfolds. It goes from hostile, frosty Black Metal to lighter, atmospheric avant-garde passages without losing its solid writing. Dreaming has something for both old and new fans of the style. It’s as beautiful as it is savage. How the fudge did I not know about this act before? I’m blaming someone for this—probably our new intern.

So how should I ruin your devotion to this new work? Perhaps some tracks run a bit too long and stick to common ideas within the genre. I can already tell some of you are going to despise the vocals—not an issue for me, but it comes with a warning. Dreaming leaves us feeling that the band hasn’t yet reached its full potential, and that just a bit more conceptual cohesiveness would easily put it on many “Album of the Year” lists. Maybe I simply want it to get even weirder.

The corpse-painted community doesn’t get creative bands that often anymore. I’m still not sure if Lamp of Murmuur will grow on me the way many other bands have, but it’s definitely a breath of fresh air, and I can’t wait for whatever the band decides to do next. The potential is huge. It’s a polarizing band, and maybe that’s exactly what we need in this decadent scene of ours. Anyway, this thing will probably grow on me.

Label: Wolves of Hades

Release date: November 14, 2025

Website: https://lampofmurmuur.bandcamp.com/album/the-dreaming-prince-in-ecstasy

Country: USA

Score: 3.5/5.0