Këkht Aräkh - Morning Star [Colored]

Morning Star is the latest from Këkht Aräkh, a 2026 album of wintry, romantic black metal pressed here on colored vinyl.

The project is the work of a musician credited as Crying Orc, who handles nearly everything on the record, from performance to cover design. Sessions took place between Berlin and Stockholm, and the album leans into a dreamlike, lo-fi atmosphere where raw distortion and tape-processed ambience share the same frame.

Seventeen short tracks flow like chapters in a nocturnal tale of castles, ravens, sorrow and endless winter. "Castle" and "Raven King" set cold, buzzing guitars against melancholic melodies, and the softer, quieter passages land with real tenderness, giving the darkness room to breathe.

Guests add unexpected colour. Bladee, of the Swedish collective Drain Gang, appears on "Eternal Martyr," while Spöke adds backing vocals, organ, flute and piano to "Trollsång." Their contributions blur the line between underground metal and experimental pop, and the Swedish-language titles scattered through the running order deepen the album's northern, fairy-tale mood.

Haunting, tender and wilfully strange, Morning Star rewards late-night listening with the lights low. It's a record for anyone who likes their black metal with more heartache than brutality, and a striking addition to any collection of modern underground music.