Album review: Abyssal Rift - Extirpation Dirge (2023)

Abyssal Rift - Extirpation Dirge

USA

Sentient Ruin Laboratories

 

The cover art (by Jesse Nihil) beguiles and perfectly complements the music therein; a charred blackened being emerging from the darkness with vengeance in its eyes and an open mouth dribbling with hatred and curses.
 
“Extirpation Dirge” is a musical journey for falling into a hole in the ground; careening through a winding network of tunnels before you are released into the Abyss. As you fall freely you feel the hands of the damned reaching out to touch and grab you, the weeping choir resounding. You hear, from beneath, the echoing roar of the beast which signifies your impending end……wwwwuuuuuurrrrggghhhhhh!!!!!
 
Helmed by multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Max Auxier with drums by David Mahoney and mixing/mastering from Will Killingsworth, Abyssal Rift’s innovation is to seamlessly fuse cavernous pounding black/death with death doom and progressive/space rock plus a sprinkling of post-metal. Reads like a confused musical clusterfuck but I assure you it is not (also assure you that I am not confused hahah); I marvel at how many musical styles I am experiencing almost simultaneously, while nonetheless encountering the same dark being as depicted on the cover art.
 
This journey is six tracks long with a running time of less than 37 mins; it twists & turns, pummels, and pulls you apart, leaving you broken and bloodied, wanting to get back on that rollercoaster to Hell…………a must! (Unkle Superion)

 

Album review: Exaltation - Under Blind Reasoning (2022)

Exaltation - Under Blind Reasoning

New Zealand

Sentient Ruin

Exaltation's debut album, "Under Blind Reasoning," is certainly a vicious slab of feral death metal. The hostility of the music has a certain apocalyptic quality, reminiscent of bands like Krisiun, Rebaelliun and Morbid Angel, while it also has some war metal tendencies. It also helps that the production isn't overly polished, giving the music a kind of organic appeal and raw urgency that many new death metal bands lack. Exaltation's strength lies in their ability to compose well-written songs while displaying a high level of aggression that is immediately noticeable. Listening to it, I was reminded of albums like "Black Force Domain," simply due to how ridiculously ferocious and unhinged the music is. It's also refreshing to hear a band that opts for a go-for-the-throat approach instead of conforming to trendy "old-school" gimmicks. Fans of gritty and violent death metal are in for a treat!

Album review: Invultation – Unconquerable Death (2021)

Invultation – Unconquerable Death

USA

Born For Burning Productions (CD) / Sentient Ruin Laboratories (LP)

Hailing from Ohoi, USA, Invultation strike with their second full-length album entitled, "Unconquerable Death", which was released by Born For Burning Productions earlier this year. Andrew Lampe (Echushkya, Longbarrow, The Wakedead Gathering) is the sole musician behind this project.

Musically, the sound leans towards bestial and filthy Black/Death informed by bands such as Teitanblood, Proclamation, and Archgoat. Those who enjoy the aforementioned bands will certainly appreciate what Invultation has to offer, as the music exudes a profoundly blasphemous atmosphere.

Opening track, "Hanged Mass" begins with a short, but sinister ambiance before a roar of pure unbridled chaos plunges the listener into the abyss.

The songs on this release offers a variety of tempos, from mid to hammering fast parts, as well as a series of whore-sodomizing riffs that will have you bang your skull from beginning to end.

Tracks like "Insatiable Cruelty" and "Banners Under The Moon" feature blistering guitar solos that will make your brain explode. As a matter of fact, this whole album is full of sick riffs and frantic solos, which certainly adds a very chaotic aspect to the music, coupled with the mix of insanely deep and evil vocals.

One of the biggest strengths of this album is the compositional depth and consistency of the music. The music is easily distinguished from one track to the next, as there is enough variety to keep it from becoming monotonous.

All in all, "Unconquerable Death" is an apotheosis of filth and darkness, as Invultation offers an arsenal of bestial metal styles that epitomizes the genre. From its killer aesthetics to the artwork to its ominous music, everything about Invultation feels right. (HT)

EP review: Cthonica - Lessor Incantations of Cthonic Lore (2021)

 

Cthonica - Lessor Incantations of Cthonic Lore

Venezuela

Sentient Ruin Laboratories / Caligari Records

From the depths of Venezuela, a communist country rife with crime and oppression, comes the duo known as Cthonica. The band plays dark and subterranean black/death reminiscent of bands like Antediluvian and Grave Upheaval. "Lessor Incantations of Cthonic Lore" is their sophomore release and the follow-up to their excellent 2019 debut album, eerily titled "Typhomanteia: Sacred Triarchy of Spiritual Putrefaction." The music exudes a deeply sinister atmosphere that makes you feel as if you've just entered an alternate dimension of pure evil. Most of the songs follow a similar flow, but are able to put the listener into a trance with their hypnotic and impossibly dark overtones. The vocals are monstrously cavernous to match the music, while the drums, bass, and guitar are drenched in a rather primitive production. The guitar sound is absolutely perfect for the style they play and gives off a very gritty atmosphere that makes your skin crawl. The production is suitably raw for this kind of cacophonous music, coupled with their knack for excellent songwriting that contains a lot of depth. There are a lot of bands that have tried to play some sort of dark, murky black/death over the years, but few come across as convincingly as these Venezuelan maniacs. These guys are, without a doubt, the real deal. Highly recommended! (HT)