In true or should I say trve Godz ov War fashion, this album came with minimal information, although it wasn’t hard from the artwork, the band name and the album title to work out that we’re dealing in black and death metal. After a bit of digging, I did establish that Persecutory are from Turkey and this is their second album.

The grandiose style matches the lofty lyrics. The atmosphere is menacing. The vocals are chilling. Persecutory are on the march and attack. The riff is high in the range. This impressively imperious piece of punishment is “As The Serpents Ascend”. The ambiance reminds me a bit of Rotting Christ but this is heavier and the sound is more all-embracing. The fire and heaviness are reinforced on “Thou Abyssic Fire in Rebellion”. It’s ugly, violent and again the delivery is like an infernal march towards a dark chasm. “Adorned in Primeval Seas” sounded exactly the same as it furiously and mercilessly furrows its path. The drums hammer at our head, the guitars blaze away at a breathless pace while the echo of the frosty vocals make this both invigorating and terrifying. It may not be the intention but it’s fun. “A blazing vengeance awakened the seven kings who had varnished the deity and blind faith” is the typically pompous lyric to start “Circle of the Spirit Devourers”. It is as ever an explosive war march with an angry rant. So too is the equally irrepressible “The Blazing Spheres”. Even with the occasional atmospheric passage, this album is permanently ablaze.

This album has a similar pattern of marching forward at pace. Even so structurally and instrumentally, it is full of twists. Above all “Summoning the Lawless Legions” is full of intent and swirling atmosphere.

(8/10 Andrew Doherty)

https://www.facebook.com/persecutory666

https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/summoning-the-lawless-legions