Formed in 2017, in the Polish city of Lublin, sludge/doom metal band Optical Sun have been on a musical journey that has pushed the outer realms of heaviness and have left and EP (2018’s Optical Sun) and LP (2021’s Save Our Souls) in their wake. 2025 finds them upping the ante somewhat with their second long player, the supremely evil Diabeł. Taking all that was great about their previous record, then tightening the screw even further, this quartet have released a record that not only stands as one of the year’s best doom records, but one that sets the standard for all who follow.
It’s undeniably true that you can’t judge a book by its over (or, indeed, an album by its sleeve), but that which houses Diabeł gives a good indication of what lies in store. It’s violent and angry, and looks as if it has been painted by a serial killer (in his victim’s blood). It suggests that the music inside is going to be a pretty extreme listen, and that’s exactly what the nine tracks serve up and in terms of doom metal, they don’t come any more extreme than opening shot ‘Strach’. With plenty of distortion on the guitars, the band excavate their riffs from the lower circles of Dante’s Inferno, while rhythm section deliver a heavy, relentless beat that pins the listener to the floor. In fact, with two bass guitars in the band, Optical Sun deliver a bowel-loosening affair that’s guaranteed to shake your soul to its very core. The vocals are suitably satanic and sing a strange incantation that summons all sorts of evil spirits, but the band have also included some choice samples from vintage horror films that work in tandem with the lyrics and that turns the likes of ‘Mój Bóg Nie Umarł’ into dark and discombobulating affairs.
Diabeł is the kind of album that works on several levels; it’s an unholy trinity between music, cinema and lyricism, with the three combining to create a cinematic affair that will fill your head with visions of the most evil kind. It also turns Diabeł into a multifaceted experience; each time you approach this album your focus will be on a different aspect as distinct dimensions reveal themselves on successive spins. It means that this is an album in constant motion, it has an almost organic feel, a shapeshifting quality, that ensures it’ll never become staid and will hold your interest over repeat plays. From the sleeve to the music contained within, Diabeł is an album that pushes things towards extremes. The spaces between songs seem deliberately short which only increases the overarching feeling of oppression, while the riff that heralds the arrival of ‘Z Glębi Ran’ could swing with Sabbath’s ‘War Pigs’ (and quite possibly win).
While many bands are happy to stay within the confines of their chosen genre, Optical Sun have moved forwards exponentially with their second album. While they haven’t tore up their roots completely, there’s a desire for sonic exploration here that’s rather refreshing, and while we don’t know where Optical Sun will go next, Diabeł suggests it is going to be interesting.
- Diabeł is available now (from here).
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Track List:
- Strach
- X
- Mój Bóg Nie Umarł
- Z Glębi Ran
- Morte
- Do Krwi
- Spowwiedź Oszukanego
- Diabeł
- Gasnące Kolory
