Album Review: Soothsayer – The Unbinding (Apocalyptic Witchcraft)

Soothsayer, the Cork-based atmospheric blackened doom band, are back with an album filled with dark magick and melancholy. It is The Unbinding and it is out on July 3rd, 2026, via Apocalyptic Witchcraft.

I love music that makes me forget where I am. I love music, that for a while, makes me forget that reality can be so god-damn soul-sucking, and that no matter what we do, we’re all pretty much f**ked. I love music that immerses me, and not just with a story or concept.

It doesn’t happen as much as I would like, and I am as guilty as anyone for not always being engaged because of stimulation around me, but when it happens, it is special. I mean, don’t we all want to just lose ourselves in a song or an album for a while?

That is what makes this album such a triumph as far as I am concerned. It’s not the calibre of the song writing, the haunting and harsh rawness, the esoteric developments, or the thick atmosphere that pours out of every faucet, it is that all of this captures the imagination and sends it spiralling into the void. Where the darkness is suffocating, and all anyone can do is focus on the hellacious sounds that come from this record.

Calling it immersive almost seems like a way of understating just how entrancing it is. Or at least I found it to be, with each of the five tracks offering up something that had me gripping my headphones tightly, sitting on the edge of my seat, and feeling stiff all over. I found myself wracked with tension, but not to an uncomfortable degree. More that I had to steady myself in constant anticipation for what would come next. After all, this is a maelstrom of blackened and brutal heaviness, and across the five tracks, Soothsayer push the limits of what this combination can deliver.

A ton of credit must be given to the band for finding fresh and exciting ways to make a familiar combination of genres stand out. Though, considering their reputation for always creating something dangerously hypnotic, it’s no surprise that what they do on The Unbinding is so effective.

The longer it goes on, the more you’ll find yourself sinking into it, until it’s far too late to escape. Suddenly there’s a thick layer of oppression in the air, and the panic rises through the body as the darkness becomes choking. This is magickal, but it’s a much darker kind of magick, an ancient kind of magick, and this album embraces it fully.

Its pull is too much to deny though, and over a staunch 45 minutes of music, it proves to be so effective. I was left reeling afterwards, and as excited to listen to it over and over again, as I was terrified. After all, stare too long into the darkness, and you might find something staring back.

Soothsayer – The Unbinding Track Listing:

1. Eroding the Sky
2. Sooner Acceptance
3. Endless Shesha
4. The Vine
5. A Vague Shimmer

Links

Bandcamp | Facebook | Apocalyptic Witchcraft