Do the math — you should already know that we are HUGE fans of Youth Attack Records, and they just had an insane drop (which we will be covering at a later date) that happened on April 1st (no joke). I can’t front — it consisted of some of my favorite Hardcore Punk releases of 2025! What you really need to know today is that Youth Attack Records released one of my favorite Black Metal releases of 2025, BIG FACTS! The name of the project is MAGISTERIUM, and the record is entitled The Sacristan.
This is the kind of Black Metal that makes me smile even as this world turns to shit! What’s keeping me smiling is the simple fact that I have working ears that allow me to hear that this is an insanely on-point record. MAGISTERIUM has conjured up 4 sinister Death Hymns that will leave you yearning for more. What impresses me is how each song is its own universe, where all kinds of sonic textures of hate collide to create one audio body of filth. A composition like “Ripen the Corpse Soil” is a perfect example because the breakdowns are portals to nothingness, and then a symphonic cloud of death overtakes the track.
MAGISTERIUM is a Black Metal project, but it’s seething Hardcore Punk energy is underneath everything ready to slaughter your braincells. Vocally and musically, not too many bands could reach the level of depravity that The Sacristan has ascended to. I know for a fact that with each listen, a new auditory trap door will be opened. YA has fucking done it again, because this MAGISTERIUM record fucking rocks!
