After several decent stabs at creating their own brand of dimension-bending, death metal groove on various EPs and splits, Sickrites have finally released their first full length. Evidently, it was somewhat overdue. Irreverent Death Megaliths is bursting with the kind of puss-filled life and personality that many bands will strive for a lifetime to achieve without much success. Alright, when I say life and personality I mean the kind of life and personality that brings demon worship, plague and pestilence to your village and leaves your loved ones covered in suppurating boils. I mean, if these guys actually moved in next door, you’ve got a problem. Back to the album, this is basically a death metal release but from the outset Horth, Morkh and chums (the other two of this Russia-spanning necro brigade are known cryptically as A. and D.) begin to haul in other elements but without deviating to far from the path in any way that should offend any purists too much. It’s all done through a mixture of rhythmic, discordant riffs and incessant, driving melodies that constantly threaten to descend to stomach churning levels of insistence and distortion.
The effect is like stumbling in on some horrific procession before being pulled in and absorbed into the ugly celebration by your slowly ebbing sanity. If you can avoid screaming for your mummy in the first five minutes, the experience becomes pretty irresistible. Sickrites manages to pull in plenty of classic old school driving death metal here that might sit well with fans of Bolt Thrower, but managing to vary with pace and atmosphere with various tricks that include black and doomy part to create something very three dimensional. Even the first two tracks, both of which open as decent death metal fare, slowly break down to deliver a kind of creepy psychedelic sound, even throwing in a few curve balls and surprises here and there – something, without giving too much away, that Sickrites seem to excel at.
But there is also the obvious influence of the more sepulchral end of the death metal scene – Blasphemy and Sarcófago for example and even Beherit and Morbid Angel. The incessant bass lines, deep, deep vocals and the almost martial drumming produce what can be an almost suffocating experience at times particularly on tracks like Dweller of the Fleshtombs and New World Hosanna. But Sickrites, for all their depravity, manage not to cloud proceedings with an overbearing production. While it lacks the outright intensity of some of their satanic death metal cousins, it also allows the band room to breathe in their pursuit of a slowly warping, chaotic style that means your senses are drawn in and pulled apart rather than simply beaten into submission. Dare I say, allowing room for a little more subtlety? I guess some of the break downs and pace changing would also be an issue for some people but for me it just means there are more rolling, decaying hills in this dark landscape to explore. Irreverent Death Megaliths is an excellent debut and it’s now due out on its second release, this time with Osmose, after being released on vinyl last year through Cryptic Visions Arts. The good bit, therefore, is that there is already more on the way in the form of two split 7”s with both Pestilentia and with Wargoat. Can’t wait. This is definitely one to follow.
(8/10 Reverend Darkstanley)
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