Labels: Self-Released
Formats: CD/Digital
Release Date: 25 Mar 2026
Tracklist:
1. You May Call Me a Witch
2. The Act of Lust
3. Błogosławieni Ślepi
4. The Nails
5. Hypocrisy Demands Blood
6. Święte Szlachtowanie
7. The Degrees
8. The Swing
9. Gdybym Istniał
I've been thinking about how to start this review for most of the day. One country I haven't featured a lot of here is Poland but that changes now, thanks to Solid Rock PR, who're doing their utmost to champion the country's ever growing metal community. I recently received a promo package that featured the newest album from Polish black metal duo Hegeroth. Not only did I receive a CD copy of their 2026 full-length Soaked In Rot, but they were kind enough to throw in some stickers, a plectrum and a handwritten note!
Hegeroth formed in 2010 and released their first and only demo in 2012. Since then they have released five full-length albums, with Soaked In Rot (their sixth) due for official release this coming Wednesday. Thank you to Bene and Chors for this opportunity.
Even though the days are getting lighter and longer, I’ve been looking for an excuse to delve into more black metal (not that I should really need one!). Cue Polish melodic black metallers Hegeroth and their newest album. Starting with ‘You May Call Me a Witch’, they’re out to show that Polish black metal is about more than just Behemoth et al. As a duo, they do stay true to their country’s version of black metal, which is equal part Slavic and Hellenic with some war metal tendencies thrown in too. After the somewhat expensive opener, ‘The Act of Lust’ goes for more immediacy with raging percussion and guitar work, as well as the snarling vocals. This is excellent so far! A lot of attention has gone into it and it shows. I just hope my neighbours think so too!
The other thing I like about this album is that Hegeroth don’t just write their vocals in English. ‘Błogosławieni Ślepi’ is their first Polish language song here and it only makes their black metal sound even more fearsome. That fearsome sound is made in part due to the raw, organic recording. There’s something quite haunting and unnerving about the intro to ‘The Nails’ and it sets the scene perfectly, as Hegeroth deliver another frenetic blackened hymn. That being said though, there’s a great deal of control rhythmically. I don’t know if the percussion being performed is the work of a session drummer or a drum machine, which I suppose is a good thing as it blends well with the rest of the music.
The mid-point of the album is taken up by ‘Hypocrisy Demands Blood’, which is an utterly disgusting slab of black metal that’s joined by what sounds like slam/death metal in places. I’m probably hearing it wrong but I love it all the same. By now it’s obvious that Hegeroth are at their most brutal when they’re performing in their mother tongue, as is demonstrated by ‘Święte Szlachtowanie’, which is the shortest song on the album. The brutality is rained in slightly by their melody though.
It’s always impressive to me that simple tempo changes can make an album sound completely different from one minute to the next, as is the case with ‘The Degrees’. Initially it sounds like a doom/death song before it shifts back into more familiar black metal territory. The melodic elements are great here, adding extra depth to the music. Penultimate song ‘The Swing’ is actually the album’s longest, so don’t be expecting anything too swinging! It has elements of progression and noise alongside the extremity that makes this album such an enjoyable listen.
‘Gdybym Istniał’ closes the album in a suitably unnerving manner, as the dramatic intro builds in volume and melody, leading to a gloriously dark hymn filled with tempo changes, crashing percussion and guitar work that features both low driving tones, and melodic highs. The vocals could be best described as throat-scraping too (in the nicest possible way). It’s great to be able to experience an album by a band that is well established but also fiercely loyal to the underground. Hegeroth’s black metal is shaped by their roots and it’s much more authentic than you might think. Excellent work!
Soaked In Rot is now available to stream in full and purchase on both physical/digital formats from Hegeroth below:-
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