Godz Ov War Productions is on a roll with a slew of decent releases this year within the death metal sphere as Polish act Kingdom release their third album on the back of two albums released in 2009 and 2013. Sticking to a formula of pulverising your ears to a pulp, I preferred the debut to the sophomore as the debut is far more vitriolic, potent with ambitious musicianship. Fast forward to 2017 and the band unleashes a savage yet wholly satisfying album that starts with a bizarre distorted intro piece that is succinctly overrun when the riff to “Sepulchral Psalms” is thrust upwards like the eruption of liquid volcanic rock. The pace is kept turgidly slow with a lolling double kick being used to focus the song via its density with the bass propping things up before an ensuing blast.

The band has opted to intensify their song writing with all out sonic warfare as “Monolith Of Death” continues the albums relentless speed, using the double kick to great effect when the song slows down. The vocals are deep, really deep, bowel churning vomits of deathly poison as the inhumanity to this album is similar to other war like metal acts such as Aum, Funerus and Desolate Shrine from the newer breed to older acts like Autopsy, Bolt Thrower and Incantation. “Forsaken Tribe” starts with a much slower riff very like Bolt Thrower as the mechanised double bass beats like a stampede. The tempo switch is excellent as the song smoothly transitions into a faster more thundering approach which is catchy in a warped manner as the fret squealing lead break punches holes into the bass underbelly of the track.

The bands attempts to inject mood and varying levels of bludgeoning is structured well with “Kaplica Ducha Zgnilego” being oppressively claustrophobic but equally eerie due to the riff plundering the depths of despair before the song’s speed is shattered into a blurring blast. I really do like “Abyss Of Torment” as the tinny snare work serves as the intro section before the riff forces its way into the track. The amalgamation of all the instruments builds towards a total shift in style but still affording the drum work focus as a gnarly riff drills into your psyche.

It would be false to declare that album is any better than other death metal releases this year but this Polish band has focused their malignancy on tunes that plunder the old school death metal template but also unleash a terrifying and uncompromising assault as the album closes with “Whispering The Incantation Of Eternal Fire” before a cover tune. The song is saturated in melody with good lead breaks nestling within the rampaging drums. The band has covered Darkthrone’s “Cromlech” from the “Soulside Journey” album and it is fair to say that the version is ugly, grotesquely malformed but keeping the core of the songs riff intact and ends this album with as much finesse as being beaten with a nail strewn baseball bat coated with sulphuric acid.

(7.5/10 Martin Harris)

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https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/kingdom-sepulchral-psalms-from-the-abyss-of-torment