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)