Metalcatto
If you think Muerto is simply a Death Metal band name, you’ve been thoroughly fooled by the marketing machine. Whatever is happening on its new album, Eclipsed Realms, cannot be so neatly categorized. It certainly cannot be described as Death Metal, nor does it entirely fit within the strict confines of Black Metal, even though its production lovingly embraces that signature rotten, lo-fi aesthetic. Do you expect me to feel some misguided mercy just because we share the word “eclipse” in our respective titles? Hehe, not a chance!
I suppose Eclipse Realms does evoke the void of space, but not in a majestic, cosmic way. Instead, it feels like the air is rapidly depleting in a failing spaceship, and your internal organs are on the verge of becoming a pressurized blood pudding. The sound is overwhelmingly dense and somehow foggy, a thick atmospheric haze pierced incessantly by frantic blasting that reminds you this is, at its core, a form of retro Blackened Death Metal. The tracks are unafraid to stretch well beyond the three-minute mark, giving the album a truly expansive, almost suffocating, sense of scale.
As mentioned, the relentless blastbeats command significant attention, but the vocals are certainly no afterthought. They are decadent, tortured, and deliberately lo-fi, buried just enough in the mix to feel like a transmission from a decaying satellite. In fact, every element here feels intentionally low-budget and raw, a choice so consistent that I can’t even be mad at it. This approach injects a degree of gritty authenticity often missing in more polished, thematic “Atmospheric Metal.” Sonically, think of it as a more Death-Metal-oriented rendition of a Darkspace album, though with marginally better production clarity and mercifully more variation in its riffing.
However, we are indeed hit by certain cyclical riff patterns for longer than I would have preferred. Furthermore, the album is unrelentingly murky in its singular nature. There is essentially one prevailing mood here, and it is utter annihilation. Eclipsed Realms is, true to its name, pitch-black. It wouldn’t have hurt the journey to incorporate a few more dynamically “colorful” or texturally varied moments to provide contrast. It isn’t terribly monotonous, but it is also not exactly brimming with unexpected twists and turns. That’s my primary warning; please don’t hate me too much for it, okay?
Ultimately, Muerto might not be doing something vastly different from a host of other bands in the atmospheric extreme Metal sphere. Yet, considering the specific, uncompromising way Eclipsed Realms is executed, it remains a compelling listen. I wouldn’t dare call it “safe.” Despite its unwavering consistency, the album commits so thoroughly to a niche, abrasive style that it possesses a genuine edge capable of alienating casual listeners. Coming from a perpetually sunless land myself, this music fits the horrible, bleak weather perfectly. If you are searching for a soundtrack to match the profound misery of a deep winter or a personal void, you can now bask in this eclipse’s total, frostbitten disregard for any semblance of human warmth.
Label: Transcending Obscurity
Release date: April 17, 2026
Website: https://www.facebook.com/muertoband
Country: Mexico
Score: 3.3/5.0
Metal Eclipse Reviews 