My attention to this band originally materialised because the main guy, Hussain Akbar, is from Saudi Arabia, a place not really known for its extreme metal bands. Granted he is ably assisted by a couple of guys from Germany and The Netherlands, namely Lukas Kaminski (bass) and Floor van Kuijk (vocals), both of whom have or currently reside in other acts such as Stillbirth and Korpse to name a couple of notable acts.

You’d think I’d tire of hearing the bludgeoning releases on Comatose Music, but I don’t and whilst I’ve reviewed plenty of them each is different in its own way and Sijjeel is no different. There is something much darker lurking within the music of ‘Affiliation Of Horrid Containment’ that continues the path forged on their previous battering full length opus ‘Salvation With Insanity’. I say darker because the songs here possess an impending cataclysmic gravitas to them that you hear when you listen to albums by the likes of Immolation or Incantation. The band is easily on a par with those veteran acts only this three piece is out to absolutely slaughter the listener from start to finish within these ten tracks.

A full metal intro introduces the album, dark and teeming with incredible ominousness it leads directly into ‘Descendent Incertitude’ with a chaotic explosion of programmed drum work and frenzied riffing. I like that the drum programming is organic and you’d be hard pressed to tell whether it was a real drummer or not. The bands innate technical wizardry rains down from the guitar riffing as the song switches the tempos around from insane blasted workouts to much slower oppressively dense sections that are utterly suffocating in tone.

‘Abomination Captivation’ continues the album with an onslaught of drums peppered with riffs as that chaotic texturing rears up ensuring the song is intense yet accessible. At times the speed is unyieldingly terrorising with the breakneck guitar work hooking into the ridiculously low disembowelling vocal tone. Added to that you get the rumbling bass work that underpins the albums density as ‘Torment Upon Their Captivation’ continues the bludgeoning. Homicidal speed is adopted here, with the riffs tearing you apart with bombarding intensity as I really liked the brief riff break respite which only serves to add another level of horror to proceedings. Here I feel the band has some similarities to Defeated Insanity and whilst not as technical the intensity of the continually changing riffs makes it feel like that.

‘The Congregation Under The Shade’ is wanton sonic destruction, its implacable intensity is centred around those riffs but also the expertly constructed drum programming. Like the other tracks the tempos continuously change, adapting to the guitar work with each passing second. ‘Infallible’ unveils an outright mauling, the blast beat literally bombing from the mix alongside the frenetic riffage, only for the whole track to be turned on its head with about 90 seconds to go. Here the tune completely changes into an eerie section which whilst brief is creepy in tone before the contorted metal reappears for its conclusion.

‘Everlasting Infamy’ has a blast start as that tumultuous riffing style pours from the song as even here the tempo dynamics are completely fluid. The guitar tweaks will remind you of Immolation for sure and Cannibal Corpse to a degree as the track pauses for a grisly riff break and some weird vocals that filter onto the mix. Concluding is ‘Impaled Upon The Pyre’ a detonation of annihilating speed and deluges of riff changes some of which reminded me of Deicide. Thunderously heavy and immersed in a crushing aura the closer is possibly the most intense tune with incessantly changing riffs as I really liked the abrupt drop in pace which only acts to channel the song down a new path of sonic carnage. Like the other songs it is controlled chaos in places as the song completely changes again for a much slower more abrasive riff and rumbling bass line that takes the song to its final resting place.

Yet another staggeringly brutal album from Sijjeel, if total sonic Armageddon is your thing then look no further and check out this monstrous brutalising album, it won’t disappoint.

(8.5/10 Martin Harris)

https://www.facebook.com/sijjeelband

https://comatosemusic.bandcamp.com/album/affiliation-of-horrid-containment