{"id":292853,"date":"2026-02-11T19:12:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T19:12:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/292853\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T19:12:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T19:12:09","slug":"where-to-start-with-m-black-metals-ascendant-dark-prince","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/292853\/","title":{"rendered":"Where to Start With M., Black Metal\u2019s Ascendant Dark Prince"},"content":{"rendered":"

LISTS<\/a><\/p>\n

Where to Start With M., Black Metal\u2019s Ascendant Dark Prince<\/p>\n

By <\/p>\n

Luke Jackson<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00b7
\n February 11, 2026<\/p>\n

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On a clear evening in May 2023, M., the anonymous creative force behind black metal project Lamp of Murmuur<\/a>, went out for a walk with his touring guitarist. Having just wrapped up a string of European tour dates behind their breakout album Saturnian Bloodstorm<\/a>, the wandering musician and his cohorts had earned themselves a well-earned rest. It was a respite that lasted all of one moment before he became distracted. \u201cI had a weird, sudden vision in the sky,\u201d he says. \u201cImmediately I told my friend: \u2018I need to return right now, because I have a song in my head and I need to record it.’\u201d He rushed to his place, grabbed his guitar and, 10 minutes later, he had his result: \u201cThe Dreaming Prince In Ecstasy Part III: The Fall,\u201d recorded in a single take. This spontaneous session spurred more time in the studio, which eventually snowballed into their latest album, last November\u2019s The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy.<\/a><\/p>\n

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The world of underground black metal inspires devotion, but can also be fickle and petulant, with artists never more than a couple of poorly received musical or aesthetic decisions away from alienating their followers. This makes Lamp of Murmuur\u2019s rise in popularity especially noteworthy; over a 12-month period starting in March 2019, the band spawned a wave of demos from their initial Los Angeles base, adhering to many of the well-loved and well-worn conventions of the genre. But ever since, the band has proven restless in exploring black metal\u2019s potential to integrate a diverse spectrum of influences, while retaining the lion\u2019s share of listeners that had been drawn to those murky and melodic demos. From the corners of the darkest clubs to a communion with the night sky, with Lamp of Murmuur, M. has been on a mission to channel every source of inspiration into his music.<\/p>\n

Such transcendental eureka moments seem outlandish, but such is M.\u2019s modus operandi; he doesn\u2019t evoke otherworldly forces in his art so much as chase communion with them. \u201cI think people are slowly realizing this is a project where you don\u2019t know what\u2019s coming next,\u201d he says. \u201cTomorrow I could be doing a straight-up rock album like Yes or Pink Floyd, or Genesis, which are bands that actually influenced The Dreaming Prince a lot.\u201d To anyone ready to dive beyond Lamp of Murmuur\u2019s mainline albums and into the full spectrum of M.\u2019s body of work, none of this will be particularly surprising. M. has shown us across multiple projects, like Silent Thunder<\/a>, Fuin\u00e4ehot<\/a>, and Magus Lord<\/a>, that a constellation of impulses vie for his focus at any given moment. Sure enough, The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy expands Lamp of Murmuur\u2019s creative vocabulary with elements of prog and neofolk.<\/p>\n

Amid all these stylistic switch-ups, M.\u2019s gothic rock obsession (previously showcased on 2021\u2019s Submission and Slavery,<\/a> which featured Sisters of Mercy-inspired artwork) forms the record\u2019s aesthetic cornerstone. Literally: \u201cMy interest has turned to the architecture and overall atmosphere of all these buildings, like the [Cologne cathedral] K\u00f6lner Dom,\u201d he says. \u201cThere are so many buildings all around Europe that have this very particular and over-the-top architecture that\u2019s both inspiring and intimidating.\u201d He also drew inspiration from William Blake\u2019s poetry (The <\/a>Angel<\/a>, penned in 1793, has many parallels to his sky-vision back in \u201923), and Jorge Luis Borges\u2019s short stories (particularly The Circular Ruins)<\/a>; it\u2019s surrealistic literature that resonates with his own personal experience. \u201cI became obsessed with visions, hallucinations, dreams, nightmares,\u201d says M. \u201cI buried deep into Sumerian religious practices regarding sleep\u2014how sleep was the language of gods back then, how they had temples built with basements\u2014which were used for the priests and monarchs\u2014to sleep and dream together, to interpret whatever the gods were trying to say to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

With these high-gothic gears turning in its heart, The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy is a work of drama and opulence, advancing M.\u2019s mission to interpret the world in the light that Lamp of Murmuur shines into it \u201cI think it\u2019s about accepting the metamorphosis of the project. It isn\u2019t that bedroom black metal project that people remember, just another project that will remain in obscurity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Below, we\u2019ve created a guide to take you on a tour through M.\u2019s work, with releases selected to illustrate the ongoing creative experimentation that made The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy possible.<\/p>\n

Lamp of Murmuur
The Burning Spears of Crimson Agony<\/a><\/p>\n

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We\u2019ll reflect at length on M.\u2019s stylistic progression in this guide, and it seems crucial that an appreciation of any journey acknowledges where it began. The Burning Spears of Crimson Agony marks the peak of Lamp of Murmuur\u2019s artistic beginnings. The fifth in a series of demos self-released across 2019 and 2020, it sums up M.\u2019s instinctive ability to walk a tightrope between immediacy and fury in a little over 20 minutes, and it was this release that ignited a retroactive fascination with the band\u2019s earlier demos among listeners, and significantly raised expectations of what the first Lamp of Murmuur album could look and sound like.<\/p>\n

Lamp of Murmuur
Submission and Slavery<\/a><\/p>\n

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Lamp of Murmuur\u2019s second album proper, Submission and Slavery contains the band\u2019s strongest connective tissue to the genres of post-punk, deathrock, and goth. Beyond this, it highlights another facet of M.\u2019s work that often goes unsung: His knack for off-kilter cover versions. Foregoing more obvious tributes to influences that are immediately apparent on listening to the band, M. instead chooses to reinterpret the works of outr\u00e9 experimentalists from rock music\u2019s fringes such as Dead Can Dance, Current 93<\/a>\u2014and here, Christian Death<\/a>\u2019s \u201cAs Evening Falls,\u201d a deathrock classic. M.\u2019s version retains its forward momentum, washing it in layer after layer of distortion and reverb that drag the original from the club into the crypt.<\/p>\n

Lamp of Murmuur
Punishment and Devotion<\/a><\/p>\n

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Released precisely one day out from Lamp of Murmuur\u2019s second album Submission and Slavery in 2021, this pair of songs offer a less textured, outright furious, 13-minute-long counterpart to the grounded goth and twisted romance of that album. \u201cIt\u2019s a more straightforward EP with two songs that are like straightforward black metal\u2014very trashy, very hard-hitting. I think I\u2019m always oscillating between those two aspects of my creations.\u201d Aside from being a fantastic pair of songs, M.\u2019s decision to release Punishment and Devotion under its own banner demonstrates the care and coherence with which he thematically plans and curates his work.<\/p>\n

Lamp of Murmuur \/ Ebony Pendant
Plenilunar Requiems<\/a><\/p>\n

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Throughout Lamp of Murmuur\u2019s existence, M. has used split releases with kindred artists\u2014including Shadow Dungeon<\/a>, Dai Ichi<\/a>, and Revenant Marquis<\/a>\u2014as bridges between larger releases, and for the connective benefits that working with a wide range of artists and labels can offer. These releases are compelling in their own right, but often contain whispers of what might be next for the band. Plenilunar Requiems with Ebony Pendant<\/a> marked the end of what is presently the middle era of the band, and arguably contains the first instance of a change in vocal approach that, as M. describes, was borne of necessary reinvention.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter the project started playing more live, I noticed how [my vocal style] was becoming a health hazard, and I had to find a way, find a tool, to be able to express myself in the way that I wanted, without having horrendous situations in which I was spitting blood, unable to speak for days [\u2026] I need to express myself, but not at the expense of being able to express myself in the future. And I want this project, as much as possible, to remain my expression.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fuin\u00e4ehot
Secrets of the Godhead<\/a><\/p>\n

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The name Fuin\u00e4ehot is a coinage of M.\u2019s, and means \u201cenemy that comes from the dark.\u201d Much of M.\u2019s work incorporates improvisations which are often recorded at the moment of inception, and so it was for the drum tracks that set the template for what Fuin\u00e4ehot would become. The project stemmed from M.\u2019s response to an injury sustained sometime before the recording of Saturnian Bloodstorm that prevented him from playing drums entirely, and a powerful drive to retain his ability with an instrument he loves, \u201cI was so frustrated with not being able to play drums because of my injury and all my pains. I still had this urge, so I said I\u2019m gonna sit down a drum kit, I\u2019m gonna throw a cell phone or a microphone anywhere, and I\u2019m gonna record myself.\u201d Secrets of the Godhead then, is the sound of healing and persistence in real time: \u201cI took those drum tracks, returned to my home, recorded guitar, bass guitars, and some keyboards, and that was it. It was the most urgent, liberating, painful, and resentful project I ever made, and I think you can hear it in how aggressive and almost hateful the project sounds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Silent Thunder
Soulspear<\/a><\/p>\n

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Black metal\u2019s baselines of extremity in sound and horror aesthetics can be off-putting to anyone who\u2019s not already attuned to them, and it\u2019s rare to find bands that can embody those key tenets while still creating immediately memorable music with bona fide hooks that a wider audience might enjoy. This is one of the not-so-secrets of Lamp of Murmuur\u2019s rapid growth in popularity; even in the band\u2019s earliest demos M.\u2019s strong melodic sensibilities claw their way out from the fuzz of production.<\/p>\n

Silent Thunder, then, is M.\u2019s antidote to this immediacy, steeped in his hidden musical past \u201cI have some projects from the past that are linked to Lamp of Murmuur, which are very atmospheric, long, long-form black metal, with 25-minute-long songs, very pensive, very patient in their nature. It\u2019s funny, because people still don\u2019t know I\u2019m a part of those old projects.\u201d Silent Thunder\u2019s latest release Soulspear gave M. a chance to revisit those introspective tendencies, \u201cI found myself circling back to this need of more reserved black metal, more self-contained, more sober [\u2026] Jon [Krieger] from Blackbraid<\/a> is a great friend of mine, he sent me a message saying how incredible it was to get lost in the woods while it was snowing, listening to the album, just meditating, walking around.\u201d<\/p>\n

Magus Lord
In the Company of Champions<\/a><\/p>\n

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The wonder of heavy music is that it\u2019s a country, a continent, a world of divergences and paths less traveled, so it\u2019s perhaps no surprise that M. would take the opportunity to explore beyond black metal\u2019s boundaries. Magus Lord makes use of its songs\u2019 extended runtimes to deliver an entire arcana\u2019s worth of epic fantasy metal, characterised by opalescent synths and periodically soaring vocals. \u201cIt\u2019s more nostalgic, it\u2019s adventurous, while still retaining this heavy metal edge\u2014this epic heavy metal feeling\u2014and dabbling in some weird moments, like some more acoustic moments, clean vocals, some weird, almost symphonic senses,\u201d M. says. \u201cIt\u2019s an album that\u2019s inspired by the likes of Manilla Road<\/a>, by the likes of Dio, by early Bathory<\/a> and all these projects that maybe you listen to when you\u2019re young, and they\u2019re a very foundational thing for you. It\u2019s like the basis for anything you go after later. You can get into more noise, or war metal, or whatever. But then I find myself circling back to those projects of old.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LISTS Where to Start With M., Black Metal\u2019s Ascendant Dark Prince By Luke Jackson \u00b7 February 11, 2026…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":292854,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[93,61,60,278],"class_list":{"0":"post-292853","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-music"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292853","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=292853"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292853\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/292854"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=292853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=292853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=292853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}