The Spanish Black Metal act Hrizg has never really been one of the most impressive underground Black Metal act, but the one man project has usually been rather consistant. With two full-length recordings and a few demos and miscellanious recordings backing them up, Hrizg still proved to be a strong force in the shadows of the Black Metal style. In the same year that the second full-length effort Anthems to Decrepitude was released, we find Hrizg issuing a five song EP entitled Inferno. But, does this EP perhaps come a bit too soon, or can it be considered a well performed follow-up/companion piece to sustain the appetite for fans until the next full-length effort?

The production quality to Inferno is about what you would expect. It's not a "kvlt" recording to establish an analog quality for an atmosphere. While it does have a rawer sound to it, it's still got that more modern vibe to it. However with that modern vibe comes a bit of sterility. The music is not the most impressive to begin with since the guitars are good, but sometimes get a little too simple, but often are far better then the drums. The bass is present too, though not as loud or dominant in the mix for it to really make much of an impact. The drums really leave plenty of open spots when they are played slow, having no real fills until the speed picks up and they go into furious double bass kicks and constant cymbol taps. The vocals are also pretty clear, hut they work for the music being played. There are also some haunting keyboards here and there that really stand out and establish an astmosphere at times, which is nowhere to really be found on the released due to the more sterile and less-then-inspiring music.

The album starts with fast paced Black Metal at the start of "Inferno I - The Awakening". The music is rich and has a strong bass presence to make it sound deep, but then it slows down and everything becomes hollow. This happens periodically, jumping from one speed to another that often isn't even transitioned too well. Sadly this becomes the main concept of Inferno. These faster portions are actually really exhilerating at times and showcase the potential that Hrizg has to put out a strng Black Metal release. However, the slower parts never really do much to hold up the quality. "Inferno II - To Yield Below the Frozen Sky" does have some of the stronger slower paced passages to the album that have a heavy and deep enough sound to them through some richer, filled music to make it sound a little more intimidating and maintain that dirtier atmosphere that the rawer production quality kind of gives it. However, around the half way point, the song really starts to slow down and, despite the stronger vocal performance, it eventually goes to a drum and keyboard only bit before hammering into a blistering pace, and it ends up showing you the emptiness the album can possess.

As the EP continues, there's really not much else to be said about it that has not already been established. "Inferno IV - Ars Goetia" is an alright song, but it's nothing too spectacular in the same vein of "Inferno III - Shadowshield". The song is not that strong musically, not really that memorable a track due to the music not being too engaging, but at least being decently performed amidst the emptier sound. The end to the track though is where things get rocky. The richer sound is faded out very quickly when the electric guitars are dropped through a fade out that happens out of nowhere and takes a split second for them to drop, only to focus on the bass. It's presence during this part is very weak, even with the bass turned to max, and it just sounds weak, highlighting one of the main issues as to why Inferno simply is not the most engaging Hrizg effort.

However, of all the tracks on the EP, it's the final song, "Inferno V - Conqueror of this Wooden Abyss", that actually winds up really making the EP worth checking out. The muddier quality does seem to hinder the drums a bit, but the performance on the kit is so much tighter and sounds much more full compared to the rest of the songs that are slower, like "Inferno IV - Ars Goetia", or just have slower passages like "Inferno II - To Yield Below the Frozen Sky". The track starts off with waves crashing and what sounds like a ship lost on them. This sets up an atmosphere that carries into the actual song and sticks with it, being more of a melancholic vibe. There is a transition around the half way point to the song that seems to try to emulate those waves, but feels forced on, and then the music kicks back in and while the same, it sounds like a different track. Even the vocals feel off, being far less enthusiastic then they were, as if bored with the entire effort.

Inferno isn't one of the worst Black Metal recordings you can find, but due to less then full music and a production quality that has a muddy sound but still manages to sterilize the music when it's slower, it's hard to look at this as a strong release. While Inferno closes well, it doesn't quite start out well, and it never really seems to capture the listener aside the faster, more energetic passages and bridges that occur. The closing vocals on "Inferno V - Conqueror of this Wooden Abyss" doesn't help much either sadly. Overall, it's a decent experience that die hard fans will appreciate and probably go back to once in a while, but overall the EP really does not hold much to go back to past that first spin, leaving you with a disc of twenty seven minutes of alright music with some impressive moments and a strong atmospheric closing track.