MIASMATA - Subterrania (Review)

Written by: Blackie Skulless

​It’s not often at all that I come across the “melodic black metal” tag, as the more melody oriented variants often fall into their own sub-categories around the likes of folk, thrash, etc. However, much like with its death metal counterpart, black metal utilizing this might have more to do with production, tone, and vibe more than anything. New Zealand’s Miasmata basically have been running with those characteristics since 2020. Just this year, they’d release their second record titled Subterrania, the one that was brought to my attention.

As you might expect, Miasmata make their stand by mixing in a subtle blend of high and bright leads and the occasional cleaner singing into an otherwise monstrous formula. Noisy execution of blast beats and tremolos maintain a darkened window to work this into, topped with comprehensive yet hoarse shrieks that aren’t afraid to also tap into that melody. Avoiding overproduction while still casting a cleaner cloud that lets even bassy rumbles pop through enhances the experience, preventing things from getting generic. Finally, machine precision lets the harsher delivery fall into the more accessible bits without coming off awkward.

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Thus, Subterrania can quite fairly be said to scratch the same itch that the better melodeath albums did, but under a black metal scope. “Full Of The Devil” might be my favorite example, as the major-toned leads in the center almost nod to a Europower rhythm before a bassy transition makes the false-hope collapse into an atmospheric beatdown. Similarly, opener “Those Who Cross The Flame” swings hard to begin but goes out on a softer note that features clean singing. The second half of the record sees longer song construction, especially the epic self titled track closing us with a whopping thirteen minutes. Its opening soft licks falling into the harshest wail on the album were a neat touch, however I may prefer the thrashy bridges of “Interloper.”
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​Melodeath is often a rare sell for me, which I can now say for meloblack, as this outfit has struck the iron at the perfect temperature that allows little room for error. The ability to pull this off not only without it sounding generic but also without sounding awkward thanks to the multiple angles is impressive as is. Throwing compelling and memorable songwriting atop, packaged into a digestible thirty-eight minutes brings it to the cosmic proportions the album art depicts. For some it may be a grower, but for me this was an instant hit.

​Miasmata - Subterrania was released Oct. 31st, 2025 via Naturmacht Productions. Find it here!​

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​Miasmata ​can be found at Bandcamp and Instagram
Cover by Jenna Wilson