Inferno (Boards of Canada album)

Inferno marks Boards of Canada's first studio album in thirteen years, following Tomorrow's Harvest (2013).^[2] Musically, Inferno has been described as ambient,^[3] electronic,^[4] hauntology^[5][6] and IDM.^[3][5] The album was noted as the duo's response to a darker zeitgeist.^[7][8][9] The Skinny wrote that the first half contained prominent voice sampling, while the second half focused more on synths.^[9] The Wall Street Journal reports that around half of the album's tracks are solely instrumentals.^[10] Much of the album alludes to biblical themes,^[11] spirituality,^[10] and the occult.^[5][1] The album was recorded at the duo's Hexagon Sun studio in Pentland Hills, Scotland.^[1]

The instrumentation of Inferno features guitars,^[12][13] live drums,^[7] heavy synths,^[13] adopting a live sound.^[13] The music of Inferno has been compared to that of Brian Eno,^[10][14] the Avalanches,^[6][12] and Mogwai.^[7][12] "Hydrogen Helium Lithium Leviathan" is based on heavy synths,^[11] "Somewhere Right Now in the Future" takes a dream pop style,^[12] and "Naraka" has droning synths.^[7] "Into the Magic Land" has been described as post-rock,^[12][13][15] "Deep Time" features strings and tympani,^[7] and "Arena Americanada" takes on an early IDM style with heavy synths.^[7][12]

Of the voice sampling prominent in the album: "Prophecy at 1420 MHz" features the voice of Islamic scholar Seyyed Hossein Nasr describing God as "the ultimate resonance",^[6] "Age of Capricorn" utilizes samples of a priestly sermon,^[11][12] and "Father and Son" contains an argument from the 1971 film The Jesus Trip concerning love for the Lord over "any physical being".^[7] "Naraka" features Hare Krishna chanting,^[6] "The Word Becomes Flesh" features a woman talking about embryo development,^[6] "All Reason Departs" features a pitched sampled recording quoting Aleister Crowley,^[12] and "The Process" features words from a female synthesised voice transitioning from panic to babble.^[9][12]

Inferno released on 29 May 2026 via Warp Records, Boards of Canada's longtime label.^[16] The album is available for digital download and physical release formats including the standard 2x vinyl LP, CD,^[2] and a special edition limited red translucent two-LP vinyl, housed in a triple gatefold sleeve and accompanied by a 16-page booklet.^[17]

More information Aggregate scores, Source ...

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.3/10[33]
Metacritic	84/100[34]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[7]
Beats per Minute	90%[15]
Clash	9/10[5]
Exclaim!	8/10[11]
The Guardian	[12]
Mojo	[14]
MusicOMH	[35]
Pitchfork	8.6/10[4]
The Skinny	[9]
Uncut	9/10[1]

Close

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, the album received "universal acclaim" based on a weighted average score of 84 out of 100 from 13 critics.^[34] The review aggregator site AnyDecentMusic? compiled 9 reviews and gave it an average of 7.3 out of 10.^[33]

The album's anticipation and relevance was discussed by critics: Clash felt "thirteen years was a long time to wait, and Inferno makes every one of them feel worthwhile",^[5] which Exclaim and The Wall Street Journal wrote in agreement with.^[11][10] The Skinny wrote it was "a dark reaction to uncertain, sinister times",^[9] Uncut felt the age of social media and artificial intelligence was a pertinent time to release Inferno,^[1] and Beats per Minute wrote Inferno "inhabits the here and now rather than some re-imagined past", opining it as "the most prescient and political work" the duo produced;^[15] Mojo wrote that despite the duo not being activists, they felt Inferno was recorded as a "response to current environmental and political issues", one that discusses the "queasy nightmare of the present", instead of the "cloudland of the past".^[14] The Herald speculated the Donald Trump presidencies, Brexit, and recent wars were inspirations for the "End Times-y" vision for the album,^[8] AllMusic wrote at Inferno's release "the feeling that the apocalypse was nigh was perhaps more prominent than any other time", and that though that Boards of Canada were "steeped in the past, they won't be consigned to it",^[7] and Resident Advisor wrote that "against the turmoil of the current cultural moment, this is some of the most placid and enchanting music" the duo have released.^[3] The Guardian felt contrary, complained they felt the album was a "big disappointment", "stuck in the past", and unfavourably compared the duo to their contemporaries,^[12] while Financial Times felt the apocalyptic themes were relevant despite negative thoughts on the musicality.^[6]

Critics discussed the musicality of the album: Beats per Minute felt Inferno marked a divergence from the "amniotic fluid quality" of previous records, adopting a "clinical and driven feel" in line with the album's subject of the current times.^[15] Financial Times wrote the prominence of drums and electric guitars made for a gothic and post-punk feel.^[6] Resident Advisor wrote that Inferno was more direct in its "unadulterated menace" compared to the "generalised unease" of past records,^[3] The Wall Street Journal wrote the album was on the darker end of the band's discography, describing the music as "bleak and beautiful" with the mood being "apprehensive and uneasy",^[10] while AllMusic wrote there was "glassy clarity" in the production, noting the "sharper edge" of "Prophecy at 1420 MHz" and praising the song's live drums and guitar as "heighten[ing]" the booming declaration 'I am God/the ultimate resonance'".^[7] Clash and Beats per Minute refuted the idea that the album could be perceived as "cold".^[5][15] Of the vocals, Uncut wrote that they ranged from creating "arresting and beautiful moments" to having "characteristically abstract menace",^[1] Mojo compared the sampled religious speeches to those in Brian Eno and David Byrne's album My Life In the Bush of Ghosts (1981),^[14] and Exclaim! speculated that the vocals could be meaningless as per precedent with Boards of Canada, but felt the vocals on Inferno were more purposeful.^[11]

Critics discussed the themes, feel and vision of Inferno: The Wall Street Journal wrote of the spiritual themes of the album, said the album felt "tense and jittery", and felt the album "hints and a world abandoned by God and on the brink of catastrophe"^[10] Resident Advisor wrote that the sounds of the human heartbeat at the end of the album "pinches Inferno's themes", on faith, the divine, and Jesus Christ's return "to a subtle point".^[3] AllMusic wrote Inferno "remains true to the world Boards of Canada" amidst its social commentary.^[7] Mojo wrote the album invokes "a more sinister purpose", creating a "tense, uneasy mood" occasionally abandoned for a "zoned-out summer drift".^[14] The Skinny wrote Inferno was "a long-form meditation on a chaotic world that refuses to explain itself", proving to be "wonky" and unnerving.^[9] The Guardian's negative review said that "at least BOC are engaging in ideas" in light of their perception of the album as musically dull.^[12] Pitchfork wrote that Inferno serves as a broader investigation of faith, human biology, and existential doubt.^[4] Exclaim! commented on the "sonic universe" of the band when discussing a sound in the opening track being the same as "Happy Cycling", the closing track on Music Has the Right to Children (1998), and felt that upon subsequent re-listenings "the simple God aesthetic shape-shifts into deeper meaning", bringing out an overarching theme they felt was creation.^[11]

All personnel credits are adapted from Inferno's liner notes.^[37]

• Mike Sandison – electronics, synthesizers, tapes, programming, audio evocations, drums, percussion, guitars, bass, string instruments, processes, sound design, production, recording, artwork, films, photo collage, design
• Marcus Eoin – electronics, synthesizers, tapes, processes, sound design, recording, artwork, films, photo collage, design
• Matt Colton – mastering