https://youtu.be/H546Z1BSmrs
Band info
Band: Murmur
EP: ‘Red Hill‘
Released November 3rd, 2025
Genre: atmospheric black/doom
Location: Spain
Review 
During the Civil War, Madrid – Spain’s capital – became a barricade against the fascist uprising led by Franco. It was defended by local militias, workers, anarchists, communists, and everyday people who refused to let fascism advance. ¡No pasarán! Beyond that wall of defiance, the territory around Cerro de los Ángeles (Getafe) became one of the many scars left by an opposition that Catholicism and the regime later tried to overwrite.
Across different eras, the hill has accumulated layers of meaning, and its monument, the Sagrado Corazón de Jesús, has been celebrated, destroyed, rebuilt, contested, and fought over. A wound that was never allowed to heal.
This is where Murmur enters the picture with ‘Red Hill‘, a counter-monument that, through its 3 songs, seeks to recover the memorial of those who fought for freedom.
‘Red Hill‘ is built on a doom-pathed foundation – the kind that brings heaviness and tension rather than haze – with an emotional core rooted not in despair but in indignation towards injustices. Over that base, Murmur blends tremolo-driven black metal with 90s melodeath phrasing, avoiding the constant fog we find on many ATBM projects. Instead, they shape their sound through thoughtful bridges and transitions: sharp drops, dynamic arcs, and a storytelling structure carried by vocals that serve as an emotional narrator rather than a dominating force.
Each song of the EP stands on its own, with the last being the least sentimental and most unpredictable, blending straightforward black/death with Teutonic BM, punkish riffing flair, and operatic choruses. These shifts in tone and structure reflect the tension and loss of the era, transforming fractured memories of the past into a compelling musical journey of remembrance.
Because remembering is highly important – in today’s Madrid and in every corner of the world – as we cannot allow history to continue repeating itself. In honour of those erased but never forgotten, and always in defiance of fascism.
Other links and platforms:
BC: https://murmurxatafi.bandcamp.com/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/MurmurXatafi
IG: https://www.instagram.com/murmur.xatafi/