Coming across as somewhat of a Norwegian black metal super group comprising members of Keep Of Kalessin, Khonsu, Vecordius, plus a couple of others, the talent on offer is without doubt. Fans of the Norwegian extreme metal scene got a taster of what this beast was to unleash with the singles “Saligia Moralis Codice” and “Great Horned King” released in late 2019 and early 2020 respectively to which, I suspect, generating anticipation for the full length that was sent skywards. Indeed everything about those two songs indicated to the listener that the full length will be, and is, a slab of prime extreme art.
Whilst at the vociferous heart of this album is black metal Nexorum conjure up images of empowering darkness courtesy of the convulsing deathliness that the songs are adorned with, as the 2019 single, “Saligia Moralis Codice”, initiates this monstrous effort. The song is enveloping the moment the opening sequence starts, steeped in melancholy and sinister poise before a very cool bass riff break switches the mood. That deathly purpose is punishingly dense as the double bass crunches into the mix and yet all this is without a blast beat. The intensity harnessed by the band is vast as the far more blackened “Procession Of The Damned” hurtles in producing tenets of the band members other bands especially Keep Of Kalessin. The atmosphere is huge, possessing a dramatic and undulating aura as the songs tempo fluctuates smoothly wielding a barbaric intent.
The other single, “Great Horned King” follows as the death metal angle rears its ugly deformed head with unhinged grotesquery as the song has a slight Egyptian feel to the riffing towards the finale. With an isolated guitar hook, “Retribution” brings about an opaque solemnity reeking of intimidating menace. At times there is a symphonic death metal approach too, due to the grandiose arrangements producing vast waves of momentum and sophistication as on the title track. “Antediluvium Purification” is an assaulting demolition as the song powers through bludgeoning double kick work and leads into the slower more textured “Cataclysmic Rebirth” with its cloying asphyxiation.
I wholly adored “Diaboli Stragis”, the song is a catchy pounding beast where the demonic vocalisations add considerable depth and weight to the songs pulverising beat. Closing the release is the battering monstrosity “Murderer”, where the songs inherent creepy hook infests the deathly saturation, threading tendrils of corruption as that creepy hook materialises without warning to produce a gruesome blackness to end this album superbly.
(8.5/10 Martin Harris)
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