I remember where I was when I heard that British cult post-metal band Svalbard were calling it a day. It was around the same time I heard that my beloved Ithaca were also splitting up – truly a terrible time for lovers of great, innovative heavy music in the UK. Thankfully though, Serena Cherry – former front person of Svalbard – has delivered another release from her solo project Noctule to ease the pain.

Noctule’s first record, Wretched Abyss, was based around Cherry’s love for Skyrim, but Extinguish Thy Flame shifts its inspiration to Elden Ring. Now, personally, soulsbourne games bring me out in hives and so I don’t have much to really contribute to this side of the record. But I can talk about music for hours, so let’s get on with it.

Let’s get this out of the way: I am an intro and interlude track hater. I’m sure people who love the game will feel positively about the vibes of O’Death with its ambient noises and piano led musical canvas, but frankly the explosion of Become My Blade Once More directly afterwards would be just as good without out it. Intro track Welcome To Limgrave may well invite people back into the emotional space of arriving in Limgrave for the first time, but the album really starts when Devour The Gods comes in and the listening experience is much improved by just getting in quicker.

But what a start it is. Devour The Gods hits us immediately with a solid melodeath riff and an earth shattering bellow of the song title. The track then layers on tremolo-picked black metal guitar lines and soaring lead lines. It sets the tone perfectly – this is a great, accessible extreme metal album. This is particularly evident in Cherry’s vocal performance – rarely does she reach into a typically high-pitched black metal shriek, instead staying in a powerful and legible midrange roar. This combined with the clear production job making all the layers of guitars easily distinguishable across the course of the album makes it a great entry point to the genre.

Less heavy elements are used rather sparingly, the strings and piano leading into Grafted build the tension perfectly, so when the surging double-bass drumming comes in it’s impossible not to feel a rush of excitement. And the moment where the guitars fly free with pure melodic brilliance just after the two minute mark is breath taking, before dropping into chugs that any metalcore band would kill to have.

Clean vocals are used wonderfully across Extinguish Thy Flame, but they are a little unconventional. Rather than foregrounding them for big hooks, they’re pushed back into the musical canvas to create lyric-less depth to the texture. Lament of the Omen King is a great example – the cleans float in the background of the thing wall of guitar in the intro, before ringing out over near silence to lead into the explosion of the rest of the song. It’s not a trick I’ve heard often and that makes it much more impressive when all the actual vocal hooks are delivered with unrelenting roars. Lord of Blood’s “get down on your knees” will live rent free in my brain for a while.

Speaking of Lord of Blood, the intro here has a power metal flavour to it, it’s honestly so much fun. That’s the mood that permeates all of Extinguish Thy Flame: fun. Serena Cherry is having so much fun here, it truly feels like a needed break from Svalbard’s emotionally heavy musical content. I may feel like I already know all the record’s trick by about halfway through, but I’m having enough fun that when a great moment like the incredibly nimble lead work midway into Become My Blade Once Again comes in, I can forgive that.

In my book, any record that gives a creative like Serena Cherry an outlet is worthwhile. We still get great art from someone who is just so good at making heavy music, so even if this isn’t my favourite record she’s associated with, it’s hard not to recommend Extinguish Thy Flame. Maybe for the next Noctule record she’ll be inspired by a game I also like so I can get even more excited. Mark my words: heavy music is better for having Noctule as part of it.