There’s something about duos in extreme metal that guarantees sheer, heavy brilliance. Whether it’s the pioneering, black metal tones of Darkthrone or the beautifully harrowing grind of Anaal Nathrakh, you can never go wrong with a decent duo. Naturally, Frenchmen Reno Cavadaski and the rather mysteriously named L.C.F are no exception to this rule, as together they are Lords of the Cemetery, an atmospheric blackened death act that are quite the audial delight.
Citipati is the first release by Lords of the Cemetery and they have definitely set the bar high for themselves for their future works. Citipati is a 32 minute sinister joy ride which will be popular with all fans of extreme, underground metal. If you can envisage Darkthrone circa their Total Death era, combined with the horror inspired gore of Necrophagia then you pretty much have the dark, macabre sounds of Lords of the Cemetery. Despite the band citing their influences as predominantly death metal acts such as Death, Morbid Angel and Dissection, there is definitely a strong, black metal presence too on the album which gives it a refreshingly unique twist.
The majority of the tracks on this album are very fast paced with some fiddly fretwork on it for guitar aficionados out there. Second track Eternal Dance of Death and third track Smiling Skeleton are both furiously fast numbers with very infectious fretwork in there. The amount of real, contagious groovy riffs on Citipati however are few and far between, with the main focus on the album being ferocious speed and sinister atmosphere instead of an onslaught of groove.
Title track Citipati is possibly the strongest track on the album. Opening with eerie, almost angelic noise before descending into rackety, blackened death madness. The song has a real catchy vibe to it with vocalist LCF opting for a screechier, more Satanic style of vocals as opposed to your standard, death metal guttural growls.
Overall, Citipati is a unique and thoroughly enjoyable album to listen to. The juxtaposition between ambient, unnerving quieter sounds and relentlessly heavy noise keeps the listener entertained throughout. Lords of the Cemetery are bound to be popular with elitists, as the extreme blackened death sound never fails to impress pretty much all fans of the underground. With an instrumental number Wrathful Deities thrown in there too, Citipati is a very well rounded and entertaining album and a triumphant debut from Lords of the Cemetery.
(8/10 Eilish Foxen)
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