From the ashes of Slovenia’s finest sludge-punk miscreants Leechfeast emerges a new, eerie project. Forged Relics summon music that gestures towards both the Divine and Heretical, stripping doom down to an austere and minimalist arrangement of drums, vocals and organ, that is rich in understated majesty and devout apostasy. Mired in censer smoke-laden atmosphere, slow, cascading drums peal out alongside plaintive, regal organ notes as guttural vocals slither and expel into the ether. A sense of looming presence permeates, the ineffable paired with crushing unorthodox heaviness. Across its 37 minutes, Portal utilises the repetition and ritualism of Doom Metal, Chamber music and Drone. Hinting at the baleful works of Profetus, Abandon and Mournful Congregation and also the stark, ceremonial beauty of Kali Malone and Sarah Davachi. Mesmerizing and sonorous – beckoning towards something truly ancient. To listen is to be transported, emerging from the throng and wooden pews, into the light, keenly watching across the haze of Adriatic horizon that is unending. Infinite. Eternal.