Album Review: Malakhim – And In Our Hearts The Devil Sings
Band: Malakhim
Album: And In Our Hearts The Devil Sings
Label: Iron Bonehead Productions
Release date: October 31st 2025
Country: Sweden
Format reviewed: High quality digital recording
Album Review: Malakhim – And In Our Hearts The Devil Sings via Iron Bonehead Productions by Ioana
It seems the time has come to talk about one 2025 album that I have been actually anticipating, instead of stumbling upon through pure luck. The album in question? Malakhim’s opus no. 2, “And In Our Hearts The Devil Sings”; and what a fitting album title that is. Just by hearing it, one can already tell that this album is terrifying in its elegance. It’s grand in that awe inspiring apocalyptic way that black metal thrives on, and while it takes about two or three careful listens for it to set it, it is worth all the wait. By all means, it is the kind of record that shrouds you, as opposed to hitting you square in the face. If you want a reference point to what I mean by that, think the works of Whoredom Rife or Merrimack. Simply stated, Malakhim gets you floating through the music almost as if suspended in the void.
By all means this was to be expected, since of course the heart and soul of this album is without a doubt the masterful guitar work of Andreas Nillsson (of Naglfar, for the unaware). No one writes foreboding, yet awe inducing melodies quite like him, and it shows. “And In Our Hearts The Devil Sings” features, in my humble opinion, some of the best riffing in Malakhim’s discography thus far, and considering how great of a record its predecessor “Theion” was (which I might as well revisit while we’re at it), it is indeed a sight to behold. Yet, before I go on and elaborate on said statement, I would like to take a brief moment to talk about the album cover because it truly deserves it. The combination of cold, almost deathlike blues grays and the golden halos and red snake’s tail? It’s striking to an uncanny extent. You can picture the ghoulish corpse-like figures on the cover long after you stop looking at them. That golden halo detail though… the perfect touch for such a piece of art.
Now all side notes and tangents aside, let’s get into the music, and since I already brought up the guitar work I will continue from there. There is a strong melodic element to all the riffs being performed, but, as I said, in a way that enhances the mood of the album. It sharpens, instead of muffling. The best example of that can be found on the final song of the album, “The Firmament Submits”, in the form of a recurring lead guitar riff that acts as the musical focal point of the composition even more so than the vocal performance. It is almost ceremonial in its tone and delivery, and it truly captures the feeling of standing in front of something far greater than yourself. It can be said that the listener is being dwarfed by the sheer scale of the song. Think… a black metal version of what the romantics described as “the Sublime”.
Another interesting aspect of the album that I feel needs to be brought up is its continuity. It both starts and ends with the tolling of a bell, which gives it this circular quality, that ended up luring me into listening to it again and again. And the way the bell sounds are used in the beginning and end respectively says a lot in itself. In the beginning part, they are there for a short while, as if to announce the coming of the musical torrent. Meanwhile, at the end, they draw out for longer, accompanied by the final guitar notes, and some faint synth and vocal textures. Synths are barely used throughout the course of the album, and thus their fleeting presence at the end of it resonates much more profoundly. That being said, there is definitely a “full circle” element to “And in Our Hearts The Devil Sings”, but in a manner that invites continuity and evolution instead of simple repetition. That’s what makes it so… immersive, I’d say. The listener evolves and grows along with the music.
Now, I obviously need to talk about vocal performance, because, just like everything about this record, it is a sight to behold. The band’s frontman, who simply goes by E, simply outdid himself, providing one of the most expressive and nuanced vocal performances I’ve heard in a long while. The Devil sings indeed, so it seems. I particularly love the way he alternates between high pitched screeches, rasps, sometimes even growls, howls and some rather cursed chant-like technique. And he somehow flows through all said techniques almost effortlessly, everything about his vocal work just feels so natural and alive, it’s hard to even describe. You have to hear it to know, simply put.
I could go on and on about songwriting intricacies, the finesse of both the drumming and bass work and the way they create so much dynamism within the record, but the one aspect I feel is of paramount importance in the conversation about Malakhim and this particular album specifically is the lyrical content. Remember when I described the music as being apocalyptic in tone and delivery? Well, the lyrics revel in that and I am here for it. The album opens with this evocative passage: “Hark to these words, all ye doubters and deniers/Do you not hear how the very firmament sings?/It sings a multitude of songs in His glory” (“And In Our Hearts the Devil Sings” ) which stands both as a challenge and invitation for the listener to carefully ponder upon what is about to be unleashed. And after being carried through all horizons of destruction, all that is left is the all encompassing nothingness: “Unleash the tide/ Of total death/ As the darkness between/ Consumes all light” (“The Firmament Sumbmits”). The same structure evoked as a vessel of grandeur in the beginning of the album, now leaves behind the blackness of the void alone. And of course, the listener to ponder upon its implications.
In times when one’s choices of music become more and more select, it is not without great pleasure that I discover an album that truly moves me, and Malakhim achieved exactly that with “And In Our Hearts The Devil Sings”. That being said, let the Devil sing and let yourself be immersed in this album. There are true wonders lurking into its passages. 10/10
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10/10 Immortal Classic
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