Sanguis Imperem have been donning their armor and sharpening their blades for a good six years now, and this is their album ''In Glory We March Towards Our Doom'',their debut which came out last year on the fantastic old school metal label Hells Headbangers. It's actually been some time since I was last exposed to death metal like this; strong, filthy, dark and militant, taking influences from acts like early Morbid Angel, Bolt Thrower, Immolation, and maybe even some Deicide and Incantation, flowing through the veins of the bestial death metal assault. It's an assault, though in many a way it differs from other bands who fashion the typical Swedeath or Incantation trends these days, making something relatively different, though still not achieving discombobulating complexity. Even so, this is dark, serious music and it's not a merry frolic around the park. Despite being so bestial and stubborn, Sanguis Imperem manage to keep things memorable and constant and all times.
Almost the entire of the anatomy of the album features bludgeoning, dense tremolo picking sections with some power chord hostility thrown here and there. The song writing here is more impressive than I would have thought, because they're definitely not scrawling here, and although the riffs come from the same root, they're somehow highlighted in their own unique way, giving simplicity and harsh shove along the way. The riffs are all spiraled, frantic, twisting chops and brutal chugs, and they all follow each other, like a train with all its wagons at the back, loaded with heavy material. I wouldn't really call it ''a train of brutality'' because there's more to the riffs than just blatant brutality, but the sublime heft is an important factor for making the riffs work precisely, plus, since the album seldom tends to give a break the riffs carry a sort of monotonous tone, numbing yet enjoyable. As I stated above, the traditional art of contemplating cadavers and pulling out graveyard fiends is missing, only to be replaced by a furious mid paced bestiality.
Although this can be classified as death metal directly, there seems to be a few small elements in the combination that reek of bestial black metal or black/death. These scents are scarce, but as you go over the album a few times you'll find the the vague black metal influence to be a little more clear and the drudging riffs will become more of a treat. I love how dual guitars create abysmal harmonies just before the appearance of ponderous chord slam, throwing itself into the music as if drunk and drowsy. The vocals are another garnish fro the album; they're generally hostile and take on lower tones, but sometimes a second voice joins in the choir or horrors and a much more eerie sound is obtained, seething with evil. All of its elements sum up to a top notch old school death metal album, filthy, cruel and belligerent, and if you findfrom the rotting flesh many exploit today too rotten, than take something fresher, something a little more arduous, then the glorious Roman incursion that is Sanguis Imperem is for you.
Highlights:
The Crucifilth
Praeternatural Order
The Scourge Of Men
Inherit Decay
Rating: 86%
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