Origin: Spain
Formed: 2019
Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal
Status: Active
Label: Unsigned / Independent
Themes: Instrumental
Duh is an instrumental atmospheric black metal project from Madrid, active since 2019 and centered entirely around the work of Smert, who handles all instruments. The project embraces a raw, introspective, and minimalist approach to atmospheric black metal, relying on texture, repetition, and mood rather than vocals or traditional song structures. Its instrumental nature sets it apart within the Spanish black‑metal underground, leaning toward meditative bleakness and emotional abstraction.
Both demos released in 2020—Visionnaires du mal and Root of Hate—capture the project’s aesthetic: cold, reverb‑drenched guitar layers, hypnotic tremolo passages, and a lo‑fi production that enhances the sense of solitude and internal tension. The music evokes a drifting, dreamlike atmosphere, closer to depressive or ambient black metal but without the lyrical component, allowing the listener to project their own emotional landscape onto the sound.
Duh remains a niche but intriguing presence in the Madrid underground, especially for listeners drawn to instrumental black metal that prioritizes mood over aggression. With no further releases documented after 2020, the project’s future direction remains open, but its existing work stands as a stark and atmospheric contribution to Spain’s modern black‑metal scene.
Smert – All instruments
Visionnaires du mal – Demo (2020)
Root of Hate – Demo (2020)