I got aware of RUNEMAGICK back in 1999, when my first employer gave me the promo CD to Enter The Realms Of Death (for me still one of the best old school death metal albums of all times). But if someone would have told me that the Swedes become one of the finest addresses for sinister death/doom metal world-wide, I’d have unbelievingly shaken my head at best.
Mastermind Nicklas Rudolfsson has in fact altered his curse a lot over the last years. Already on Requiem Of The Apocalypse (released in 2002) slower songs outweigh and the band’s development significantly turned into a doom-dominated direction with, without denying the death metal roots. But it seems, the main objective is not lowering down the pace, but rather to fathom the always more darksome turning depths of the music itself.
In this way Invocation Of Magick marks the next step in the logical evolution, which with a striking thoroughgoingness continues the known trademarks of the last efforts: long-running tracks, slowly developing sounds and riffs, enthralling melodies, deeply throated growls and an atmosphere that couldn’t be any darker. I do not want to state that RUNEMAGICK have reached the end of their development (where they still want to go to?), but Invocation Of Magick is quite perfect for this genre.
The king-sized soundmonster Black Magick Sorceress and the superb Fisher Of Souls won’t leave any doom-follower untouched (please do not lapse into hecticness now!). The band takes much time for every single song and that does pretty well to them. Boredom does not rise, if at all, then in the 5 minutes of silence during the last song Witchcraft Gateways. With a breath-taking perfection RUNEMAGICK celebrate their brutally slow riffs and morbid melodies. Once in a while keyboard spots and conjuring choirs show up and skillfully intensify the overall impression. So RUNEMAGICK manage to create a hard as bone and an almighty oppressive masterpiece that does not deserve less than 9 points.