Style: Progressive black metal, atmospheric black metal, melodic death metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Mare Cognitum, Enslaved, Oranssi Pazuzu, Borknagar, Be’lakor
Country: England
Release date: 13 July 2026

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For many, including myself, an important step on the path to becoming a full-fledged metalhead was shedding the cognitive dissonance that comes with enjoying an artist with questionable imagery or lyrical content. With time, I learned to look past or ignore the grotesque—and since I can’t understand many harsh vocals anyway, lyrics are often irrelevant. When an artist develops an appealing album aesthetic and thematic concept, however, the music (if good, of course) can be elevated into the stratosphere. My interest was immediately piqued after laying eyes on the artwork of Wretched Spawn of Iniquitous Orders, the debut from the one-man English progressive black metal act, Namu. A retro-visioned fleet of boomerang-shaped alien ships zooming over a lava wasteland? Astounding. The imagery, coupled with the thematic content of the album—a dark collection of personal experiences following abduction from beings not of this planet—certainly create a compelling aesthetic for Namu’s first launch. 

Namu induces listeners into a near-hypnotic state with the melodious themes in Wretched Spawn. Whether coming in the form of reverb-drenched acoustics (“Catharsis in Stasis”) or distorted beacons of distress (“Triptych”), these refrains continuously swirl as a common presence within each track. Shifting in and out of earshot, the melodies mirror the abductee’s fluttering consciousness as otherworld beings do god knows what to their earthly bags of flesh. With these motifs defining each track, and often layered underneath the black metal churning, Wretched Spawn’s rich, absorbing depths are easy to lose oneself in.

Though Wretched Spawn’s cascade of melodies gives it an ethereal feel, Namu’s fiery riffs roll over the harmonies like waves of molten magma. While stretches of traditional blast-beat-laden, tremolo-picked black metal are present, making up most of the more straightforward “Aberration of Light”, infiltrations of melodic death metal with razor-sharp gallops and harmonious rhythms appear throughout the album. As an example, “A Fold’s Gather” opens with a pummeling chug but later transitions to a slower, undeniable groove amongst dancing harmonized guitar lines after valleys of acoustic tranquility. With the frequent shifting from distorted rhythm sections to drifting acoustic passages, no riff or phrase feels overextended or repetitive. Wretched Spawn is chock full of memorable moments (of both light and dark) that will have you reliving the strange encounter time and time again.

The addition of shimmering, algorithmic, and eerie 80s-retro sci-fi brooding synths in “The Fibre Prismatic” and “Triptych” fills in the remaining empty spaces in the atmosphere like a dense fog. The vocals in Wretched Spawn, like the lifeform-imitating alien in The Thing, morph to blend in and complement their surroundings. Harsh screams propel the distorted sections forward, while calming clean vocals glide alongside the acoustic passages. The album culminates in the closing track, “Triptych”, with layers of chanting atop a spacious rhythm section that evolves into Namu’s soaring vocal peak—a wonderful conclusion to a mesmerizing tale of intergalactic abduction. 

In Wretched Spawn of Iniquitous Orders, Namu emphasizes atmosphere building, soaking his black and melodic death metal in melody. Though there are flashes of technicality in the solos of “Aberration of Light” and “Triptych”, the guitar lines mostly highlight the underlying rhythm section. While this is effective for the most part, Wretched Spawn has plenty of room for virtuosic touches that would have paired beautifully with the floating harmonious themes. This could have caused those crescent space ships to really explode into hyperdrive.

The aesthetics, theme, and most importantly, high-quality black metal of Wretched Spawn of Iniquitous Orders offer a complete and fulfilling listening experience. Namu’s debut will lull you into his extraterrestrial spaceship with appealing harmonies only to pulverize you with searing riffs once the craft’s doors seal shut. The truth is out there—the truth being this album deserves your full attention.

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Recommended tracks: Catharsis in Stasis, A Fold’s Gather, Triptych
You may also like: Inexorum, Vital Spirit, Fen
Final verdict: 8/10

Related links: Bandcamp

Label: Independent Release

Namu is:
– Namu (all instruments and clean vocals)
With guests:
– ICanBeFree (harsh vocals)