Formed in Sweden in 2015, “The Sanctity Of Death” is the second full length release from Ultra Silvam. Their brand of black metal is altogether old school in delivery, with opening track “Dies Irae” introducing the listener to a quasi-melodic wall of sound and raspy vocals, offset by a chorus of clean chanting vocals.

“Sodom vises himlafärd” follows on its heels, boasting an Emperor-esque soundscape that, with a bit more polish, would sound quite at home on “Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk”. The title track itself is a bit ragged, the widdling guitars sounding a bit out-of-synch with the frenetic blasting at times, before “Tintinnabuli Diaboli” provides an atmospheric interlude with chiming bells and acoustic guitars.

“Förintelsens andeväsen del II” has a sense of urgency about itself, with melodic wares very much inspired by the early work of fellow countrymen and black metal legends Dissection. Following this at the other end of the bands sonic armoury is “Black Soil Fornication”, a short and punchy, punky number that brings to mind latter day Darkthrone efforts.

The band seem heavily influenced by the entire spectrum of early nineties second wave black metal, to the point where they appear indecisive of which sounds to ape. “Incarnation Reverse” is arguably the closest they get to blending their pot of influences into something approaching a focussed sound, the song given space to breathe at around the three minute point before ending with a barrage of solid blasting and tremolo picked riffage. However, it’s let down slightly by a less-than-tight performance on drums earlier in the song, something also evident on a couple of the other tracks (notably the title track). Album closer “Of Molded Bread and Rotten Wine” showcases more of the bands ability to turn in a solid tune that transcends the myriad of influences, again though this is let down by sometimes sloppy performances.

Ultra Silvam are a band with bags of potential who are just missing a bit of song-writing focus and discipline in performance. I’m confident that they can build on this respectable work and deliver a tighter, more definitive album next time around.

(6.5/10 Doogz)

https://www.facebook.com/ultrasilvam

https://regainrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-sanctity-of-death