This Melbourne based lot have been around since 2004 and have released a fair few demos, splits, EP’s and an album ‘World Cremation’ in 2010, prior to this. I have to admit that they had pretty much escaped me until now but the flames have well and truly spread with Almighty Arcanum bringing them onto my radar and I have certainly been won over by them. I am guilty of prejudging this lot, the words ‘primitive blackened death metal’ had me thinking this was going to be an abyss dropping pit of nihilistic noise with lots in common with the war metal hordes spreading out from Australia but the dark textures here are well defined and expertly delivered. It is obvious that this is not a band who simply go for slamming their instruments into violent noise with little in the way of skill and dexterity behind what they do, this is in fact a more pronounced assault and one where the blackness envelopes the listener with finesse.
It would appear that 2/3 of the line-up has been replaced for this album with guitarist and vocalist D. being joined by bassist R and drummer L. yep don’t you love bands who just initialise themselves? I guess it’s better than coming up with preposterous monikers like Lord Obsidian Who Dwells In Everlasting Darkness or similar guff.
After mood setting intro ‘An Extension Of The Void’ sees us charging into a bloody cleaving furrow with guitars scything and drums pounding over the hellish vocal gargles. Melody is thick amidst the violence and the track is not afraid to slow down, still dishing out the brutality with it as the grandiose swathes ooze out. Maintaining it all for over 7 minutes the band do not run out of ideas but draw you fully into their abyss before building up the tempo again on the next title track and riding roughshod over things at a neck cracking pace. Hitting very melodic moods on ‘He Who Conquers All we have that classic Swedish style guitar sound reminiscent of Dissection, Lord Belial et al, which really brings the darkness to things.
I have to admit by now I am kind of thinking forget the death metal descriptor this is black through and through. Battering it out and with backing bellows of “Release” and ‘Fire’ it is like an invocation and one handled with dead seriousness. There are times that other bands are noted and again they all appear to be of Swedish origin. The bombastic fury of Circle Of Serpents (and for that matter no doubt the title) bring to mind Marduk and the galloping charge of ‘Darkness Manifest’ Watain. Of course this is no bad thing at all as Denouncement Pyre do it well with their own authority firmly stamped over everything.
With ‘The Redeemer’ slowly uncoiling and giving the ending both a sinister and feral feel as it picks up pace there is little to criticise on this album. It has been the soundtrack played out towards the end of the year for me and it is one that I will happily revisit and no doubt try and track down the previous release. Good solid stuff, well worth checking out if you like your darkness extreme.
(7.5/10 Pete Woods)
Leave a Reply