Lamp of Murmuur leans into the regal grandeur of symphonic black metal on The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy.
Release date: November 14, 2025 | Wolves of Hades | Bandcamp | Instagram
To me personally, one of the most consistently engaging traditions in black metal has always been the one-musician band. Befitting the whole ‘individualism’ mindset of black metal, it’s always a delight to hear a musician following their own sole vision, limited only by budget and their own musical proficiency. Sometimes this can feed into a project feeling raw and simplistic, yet engaging in its coherence. Even more delightful, though, are those projects where the musician in question is really damned good at all the instruments. Those bands where you say, ‘This is seriously just one person?’
Today’s topic, Lamp of Murmuur, is exactly that sort of project. Admittedly, I was a little slow on the draw embracing the project when it started making waves several years ago. It always makes me nervous when something musical feels universally hyped very suddenly, ya know? But somewhere around the time Submission and Slavery was released, with its post-punk tinges and a cover referencing one of my favorite albums ever (Floodland by Sisters of Mercy, for the unaware), I decided the mysteriously credited ‘M.’ had his heart in the right place. That album is an excellent spin on raw black metal, and follow-up Saturnian Bloodstorm was a great change in pace with its cleaner production and frosty Immortal-esque riffs.
With that preamble, we approach Lamp of Murmuur’s The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy. And wouldn’t you know it, M. has retooled his approach yet again and to great success. The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy, in contrast to its predecessors, goes hard on an approach akin to the early days of symphonic black metal. While M. has used synths to great effect previously, here they prove indispensable to the sound of the album. Be it the grand synth and piano underpinning on “Forest of Hallucinations”, the regal break in “Hategate (The Dream-Master’s Realm)”, or the harpsichord twangs of “The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy Part III – The Fall”, synths prove an essential load-bearing element.
Of course, keys alone don’t make a black metal album, and The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy proves a delightfully varied and cleverly written album across the board. I do particularly like how M. paced out the album’s writing, with earlier tracks feeling more ‘traditional’ of black metal while the back half seems to draw from a wider pool of influence. The former half of the album is just rock solid across the board, with the intro of “The Fires of Seduction” setting the stage perfectly for the grand “Forest of Hallucinations”.
To wit, that track beautifully blends more thrashy (and still Immortal-rooted) riffs with more majestic breaks that lightly recall Emperor. “Hategate (The Dream-Master’s Return)” hits with a bit more force that had me happily recalling Kvist, weaving in some playful folky elements before letting the synths take over towards the end in a way that would make pre-orchestra Dimmu Borgir proud. And yet it’s “Reincarnation of a Witch” that truly hit me like a ton of lead in the first half. Those exclusively killer riffs, that cleaner, post-punkish breakdown, and the direct flow into the frigid interlude “Angelic Vortex” make it probably my favorite single straight-laced black metal song I’ve heard all year.
Clearly, though, M. put most of his heart and soul into the three-song, 20-plus minute cycle of “The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy” proper. And I do feel this stretch is where the album makes its strongest showing. “Part I – Moondance” starts off feeling a lot like the rest of the album before, but begins to morph with dancier keyboards, some excellent clean vocals, and some beautifully lyrical guitar solos as the track progresses. By the song’s wind-down, there’s an orchestral grandeur that had me thinking of “The Phantom of the Opera” (specifically the bit that sounds like Pink Floyd’s “Echoes”), before dissolving into “Part II – Twilight Orgasm”.
Despite being more of a protracted interlude, I adore “Part II”, which had me thinking of the more atmospheric stretches of Fields of the Nephilim’s Elizium (another personal desert island album). It’s very moody, featuring cleaner guitars, more excellent solo work, and some resonant baritone cleans that are just excellent. And then “Part III – The Fall” comes along to synthesize the whole album perfectly into one track before the absolutely gorgeous acoustic and synth ballad “A Brute Angel’s Sorrow” wraps The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy on an emotional high, proving another huge success in Lamp of Murmuur’s discography.
I do realize I’ve gone heavy on comparisons for this review, but that’s in no way implying Lamp of Murmuur is lacking for identity across this album. Rather, the album feels like a wonderful blend of disparate elements that all combine perfectly into a cohesive and constantly engaging album. The production is outstanding and doesn’t fall into that symphonic black metal trap of making the synths drown out the guitars. And yet, it’s just foggy enough to reward re-listens, where listeners can uncover details they previously missed (like the nimble, melodic bass playing that lurks below the surface). Sure, maybe the album is more unique in its subtleties than in the overall sound, but A Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy is just an outstanding take on symphonic black metal, and a sound that might lean a little reference heavy is completely forgivable when the result is so damned good.
So once again, I hail Lamp of Murmuur for proving one of the more interesting one-person metal projects going, and A Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy is probably some of my favorite black metal to come out this year. M. has crafted another great album, and that’s doubly awesome when he already did that on In the Company of Champions under the Magus Lord name. Alongside Worm, Lamp of Murmuur is doing great justice to the symphonic black metal stylings of olde, and whether or not M.’s next album follow a similar template, The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy is just what the doctor ordered. Hail to the Prince!
