Grotesque Ceremonium “Beyond The Masters”

Label: Deathrune Records · Year: 2025

One of the most prolific underground figures in Turkey is undoubtedly Batu Çetin. Aside from his main band, Cenotaph, he’s been involved in several other projects over the years, and one of my personal favourites among them is Grotesque Ceremonium. I’ve listened to all the albums from this project over the years, and with each release, their take on old-school, dark, and blasphemic death metal has become more refined and twisted in both sound and songwriting.

This new album is by far my favourite from them—it’s filled with deranged vocals and more complex, haunted riffs. The production has a deep and isolated feel to it, which perfectly suits the raw, satanic, and dark death metal atmosphere they aim to create. There wasn’t a single track on this album that bored or tired me.

For fans of old-school, slow-to-mid-tempo blasphemic death metal, this album is an absolute must-listen.