Sothoris - Wpiekłowstąpienie

Reviews

8 Jan

SOTHORIS
Wpiekłowstąpienie
MISANTROPIA (et al.)

In 2018, the hyper-aggressive Polish metallers released their bludgeoning debut, Raj Potępiony — a corrosive blast of aural hate that sat comfortably within the perimeter of blackened death. Perhaps it was under-promoted or maybe the band’s stony commitment to the stereotypical blackened death sound pushed it beneath critics’ radar, but Raj Potępiony was an energized and technically-impressive debut that deserved far more attention than it received. Their latest effort might change all that, although distressingly, the conspicuous dearth of band information — like a biography or other helpful album promotional tools — suggests that, like its predecessor, this album will live primarily underground.

Which is a shame! Wpiekłowstąpienie sees the band expanding their sound on a number of levels, transforming their blasphemous vision into eight masterfully-produced bangers that explode from the speakers with the force of a sawed-off shotgun. They’ve added a new guitarist — Setrial — to the mix, catalyzing a fiery new dimension of songwriting, where genuinely striking melodies pierce the unyielding aggression that underpins each track. You hear it right out of the gate on both Proroctwo and Potępieniec but the scale of their evolution echoes more dramatically on leaner, downtempo fare like the title track, with its creeping intro, hissed vocals and funereal atmospherics. Other tracks hew fairly close to straight black metal, like the blasphemous squall of Opus Dei and Requiem Dla Hien. Where Wpiekłowstąpienie overtakes their debut is not so much in how well they balance genres or styles but in the pure catchiness of the riffs. Tracks like W cieniu Golgoty and Przykazanie śmierci, the album highlight, unleash an avalanche of electrifying riffs and doggedly ambitious fretwork that push the sound far beyond the compositional familiarity of Raj Potępiony.

On Wpiekłowstąpienie, Sothoris violently reaffirm their allegiance to the gods of extremity with an invigourating collection of supremely-vicious bangers. While they remain light years removed from any accusations of experimentalism, the high quality of the songwriting and fiendishly-enjoyable riffs will more than satisfy anybody looking for a cranial shot of pure aggression.

For fans of: Belphegor, Dark Funeral, Behemoth