THE MAGUS, the Luciferian project helmed by Necromantia co-founder and ex-Rotting Christ musician The Magus, was formed in 2022 following the dissolution of the legendary Greek Black Metal band Necromantia, after the death of Baron Blood in 2019. Daemonosophia is their second studio full-length, the follow-up to 2023’s Βυσσοδομώντας.
THE MAGUS – Daemonosophia
Release Date: 20 February 2026
Words: Jools Green
On Daemonosophia, he is once again joined by long-time collaborators El on guitars and Maelstrom on drums. This release is promised to deliver a more aggressive and dynamic sound than the previous album, while maintaining the devouring dark atmosphere the project’s music is known for.
The Magus explains that “the new album is a journey to Demonhood. The Truth lies Below not Above. The Six are Three. The Unholy Trinity. The Three are One. The Absolute. The Infernal pact.
“Musically, it is more edgy and vengeful, more aggressive and dynamic. Still theatrical and horrifying in nature, hellish and complex in performance. And as always there are these diabolically diverse moments that will surprise and will make you feel unease…but Lucifer has many names and many faces. In some parts, collaboration with top-level musicians and vocalists was deemed necessary to achieve maximum impact.”
After the brief but sinister mood-setting opener, Pater Noster, the attention-grabbing Pseudoprophetae bursts forth, initially as a blackened sensory assault with squealy thrashy leads. The vocals are scathingly acidic, and the overall vibe becomes blacker as it progresses. I love the ebb and build to this piece as it creates so much atmosphere. A superbly constructed, enthralling piece.
I love the engaging and atmospheric build to Daemonosophia. Firstly, you get deep, male chants building into clean female vocals, courtesy of guest vocalist Lambrini Gioti, that complement and contrast with The Magus’ acerbic, raw vocals, adding a duality to the piece. Coursing over straightforward riffing, this changes into something far more complex as the pace ramps up for the mid part of the track. Dropping back to the twin delivery in the latter stages of the piece, a more haunting and complex undercurrent is maintained.
The Six In Three Is All One is a haunting driver from the offset with a sharp, discordant edge to the riffing, which I really like. The Magus’ acidic vocals tear through, the pace paring back to a very dark, haunting mood as the main body of vocals becomes more dominant. But that discordant feel and sharpness are largely maintained throughout, with the pace rebuilding and ebbing to the close, making a great piece.
Next is The Era Of Lucifer Rising, which is a Luciferian interpretation of the Rotting Christ Thou Art Lord classic, heavily reinterpreted to reflect The Magus’ personal philosophy. I do love this piece. It is slow and smouldering, as well as hugely reflective yet powerful both musically and lyrically. This is a piece that I am sure will resonate with many people.
You could be forgiven for thinking Magia Obscura was going to be a reflective otherworldly piece as it opens. But half a minute in, it opens into a raw black assault on your senses as waves of crushing riffs surge towards you alongside acerbic vocals. But that reflective melodic element returns as a haunting undercurrent. I love the otherworldly spoken element midway, as it adds an air of mysticism, and the lead work is haunting and extensive, but cleverly understated so as to just build on the mystical atmosphere.
The Magus describes the next piece, Amelia, as his personal inner tribute to King Diamond and this aspect is reflected in the solos and keyboard work. Again beginning with a reflective opening, rapidly ramping up to a piece awash with sumptuous soaring leads and all the more impactful for the deep haunting repeat of “Amelia” alongside the acidic vocals. It is a superb listen.
Possibly my favourite track, The Chapel of Iniquities, is a piece that engulfs you entirely. It is eerily otherworldly to open, developing into ritualistic tribal drum rhythms that set your head spinning, expanding into an intense and all-encompassing wall of cold black riffing. This is made all the more engaging and dramatic by the extreme degree of the ebb and flow, which moves between the reflective and all the way to a crushing wall of black riffing.
The atmosphere builds in dense layers as an unearthly spoken element is delivered alongside the acidic raw vocals, with the haunting keyboards building further on the atmosphere. I like how the lead work has to battle with the riffs for its place within the track. This is four and a half minutes of intensely filled excellence.
Penultimate piece, The Pact, is more straightforward but in true Magus style harbours its own set of intricacies, and I love the almost cinematic swathe of lead work towards the close.
Final piece La Llorona Negra features guest vocals from Ioanna Zacharopoulou, and it is inspired by La Llorona, which The Magus saw performed by the legendary Amanda Galas over a decade ago. Her performance so blew him away that it kindled the desire within him to do his own interpretation eventually.
The result is excellent. Opening with piano and Ioanna’s vocals, the guitars and drum work do not arrive until midway. When they do, the intent is complex and crushing. I love the dramatic contrast between Ioanna’s haunting, clean delivery in the first half of the track and The Magus raw, caustic delivery in the second half. These two polar opposite aspects complement each other perfectly.
The Magus collaborated with Mexican artist Nestor Avalos, known for his work with numerous bands, including Exodus, Deicide and Rotting Christ, on the album cover art. This depicts “an Infernal Triptychon portraying six (yes) infernal entities: Lucifer/Samael in the centre, Leviathan/Tiamat to the left and Belial/Satan to the right. Each of them portrays its qualities, and all six lead to one.
“We were working for months together to achieve the perfect result in the finest detail. Nestor himself is involved in the occult arts, so he understood perfectly what we wanted, and indeed, he created a majestic painting of infernal wisdom and occult meanings, giving prominence to the Luciferian tradition and the music of the album.”
More simply put, the three/six entities represent wisdom, action and will.
Released on 20 February 2026 via The Circle Music, Daemonosophia is a powerful offering that speaks volumes and is available to pre-order in CD and vinyl formats, along with a limited luxurious box set and merch bundles. For more details, visit thecirclemusic.lnk.to/Daemonosophia.
