Lotan - Yetzer Hara

Angry Metal Guy

It’s always interesting to follow a band’s career arc through AMG reviews. The last time Lotan appeared in the hallowed halls of this fine site was in 2023, when my superior Thus Spoke took a righteous hammer to their debut. She found the Danish band’s take on the “trvest of stvles” underwhelming—citing unfocused black metal stylings, monotonous pacing, and lackluster production as key shortcomings. Now, Lotan is back with Yetzer Hara, a slab of blackened death inspired by Cain and Abel, with the intent to explore and embody “the destructive urges that define Humanity’s fall from grace.” Can Lotan surpass their debut and carve a name for themselves on the black/death pantheon’s gnarled mural?

Yetzer Hara is remarkably consistent in both ferocity and misanthropic grandeur. Lotan have found their own sound by splitting the difference between mid-period Behemoth and Mgla while leaning into the knuckle-dragging heft of blackened death’s slower moments. This record consists of more than just blast beats and tremolos, with every song oscillating fluidly between satisfyingly ignorant chugs, wintery minor chord arpeggios and even Panzerfaust-flavored atmospheric pullbacks. These pieces are deployed sensibly and arranged with a keen sense of pacing that makes each tune’s blackened bounty a joy to partake in. Subtle differentiations like a menacing clean break (“Scorched Tyranny”), a thrash-infused breakdown (“Heksenat”), and a harmonized tremolo-led climax (“Violent End”) help inject just enough variety to prevent Lotan’s aural assault from growing too stale, though many of the songs tread fairly similar territory.

Yetzer Hara by Lotan

It helps that this vile batch of tunes is aided by a stunning production job that sounds modern and massive but not overproduced. Lotan clearly took the criticisms of their debut to heart and have corrected course with a Jakob Gundel (Blazing Eternity, Ethereal Kingdoms) mix and master that maintains brutality without sacrificing clarity. This allows vocalist Martin Rubini’s venom-drenched snarls to cut through with particular force on repeated choruses like “Crown of Rope” and “Righteous Fury.” Bassist Philip Kaaber provides a thick, grounding low end, while drummer Jon Elmquist shines with a dynamic, full-bodied drum tone that gives his blistering blasts and agile tom work a serious punch. This makes tracks like the 1914-tinged blood-pumping opener “Minenwafer” and blackened riff showcase “Omnicide Manifest” hit that much harder. Yetzer Hara sounds so great as to nearly mitigate its potential weaknesses.

I only wish Lotan brought a tad more originality or creativity in the construction of the parts themselves. Guitarists Lasse Heiburg and Andy Dragsberg deliver a solid showcase of riffs and offer some nice interplay between each other, but they lean too heavily on genre comfort zones. Yetzer Hara features no fewer than 5 distinct riffs that are only slight variations of the classic Emperor “Ye Entrancempereum” motif. This isn’t necessarily a cardinal sin (it’s a great riff to crib from and plenty of bands have), but alongside the occasional generic tremolo run or faceless chug, it can leave certain stretches of the album feeling somewhat anonymous. There are points where this approach works—like the “so-dumb-it’s-good” Oppenheimer “I have become death” sample into satisfyingly ignorant breakdown on closer “Righterous Fury”—but overall Yetzer Hara could use just a touch more inventiveness in its riffcraft to differentiate Lotan from the unwashed ranks of blackened death hopefuls.

Lotan have stepped up from their disappointing debut to deliver a solid slab of bludgeoning blackened death metal. Yetzer Hara is equal parts barbaric and treacherous, and its brisk 40-minute runtime makes it ideal for concentrated blasts of “kvlt” injections. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it sharpens the spokes and sets it on fire, which is sometimes enough. If on a future record, Lotan can bring more originality to their writing without sacrificing their newfound focus, they might just carve their name into the obsidian stone they’re so eager to chisel.

Rating: Good
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Emanzipation Productions
Websites: facebook.com/lotanband
Releases Worldwide: August 15th, 2025

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