12 Jul 2021

Album review: Orthodoxy – Novus Lux Dominus (2019)


Orthodoxy – Novus Lux Dominus

Spain

The Sinister Flame

Hailing from Spain, Orthodoxy is a four-piece death metal outfit featuring members from bands such as Devotion, Profundis Tenebrarum, and Pestkraft. The band was formerly a solo project and released a relatively well-received 5-track demo in 2015, entitled “Shaarimoth. The release in question, “Novus Lux Dominus,” is their debut full-length and an absolute juggernaut of an album informed by only the darkest and heaviest bands in the realm of black/death metal. An immensely morbid atmosphere permeates this release from start to finish, augmented with the injection of harrowing doom tempos. The ingenious and rotten production adds to the overall feel of the album. It’s clearer than a demo recording, yet rawer than what most bands would opt for on an album. It walks that perfect middle-ground. Using references are effective in giving the reader an idea of a band’s sound, but at the same, also subjective. That being said, I feel like Orthodoxy might just be the death metal counterpart to a band like Vassafor, as both bands have a strong predisposition for ominous soundscapes, as well as infusing a hefty amount of doom in their music. The difference is clearly the genre boundaries, as this leans more towards death than black. Overall, if it is dark and brooding death metal you seek that sounds like it was recorded in a mortuary somewhere in the midst of some bizarre necromantic ritual, then Orthodoxy’s “Novus Lux Dominus” is an absolute essential listen. If death ever had a soundtrack, this would be it. (HT)