2025 Sentient Ruin Laboratories
www.sentientruin.com
8/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS
This is Infernalivm's first EP, and only release to date. They play a Morbid Angel, Krisiun, & Behemoth-style of Satanic death metal with relentless double bass and militant blast beats. This is neck-snapping intensity at its finest, relentlessly pounding the listener. Solid, sludgy riffs swirl over top the blasts with zero remorse, only slowing to inject a little morbid atmosphere into the music. I don't always like triggered kick drums, but here it makes sense, adding significant levels of brutality to the sonic stew they've managed to cook up. The stop-start kicks in "Ashes of the Saints" in particular are incredible. This is how dark death metal ought to be played - fast, in your face, and evil, using slower tempos only to provide a break in the volcanic speed. The vocal patterns are interesting and rhythmic when fast, sickly when slow. The doomed-out sections where the band does slow down are a welcome break from the speed, but quickly whip back into a frenzied state, and this is their strength. They seem to build each song to a sonic climax by mid-way through. The songwriting is just impeccable. Based on the power of these four songs, I cannot wait to see what they can do with a full-length, and what other satanic secrets their music holds.
