Cruciamentum - Engulfed in Desolation EP (2011)

England's Cruciamentum are by far one of the better bands to emerge plagued and bloodied from that infectious time tunnel of 90s death metal, their 2009 demo Convocation of Crawling Chaos impressive in its ability to merge actual song structures with the meticulous worship of influences like Incantation, Bolt Thrower and Entombed, sans devolving into a dull, direct knockoff. Thus, I was pretty eager to hear what they could come up with next, and I've not the slightest inkling of disappointment with their subsequent EP Engulfed in Desolation. If anything, this only solidifies the band's potential to be the 'next big thing' in primal brutality, for it isn't just some stupid palette of derivative and uninteresting down-tuned drudgery dowsed in reverb to sound like it was born in a cavern with no actual riffs of worth in sight.

No, this is well written, dynamic death metal which is likely to thrill long-term advocates of the authentic nostalgia they hold so dear. What's more, the production standards are quite tight. Potent, clean guitars felt in the gut during the slower chugging sequences, but entirely capable of picking up the pace without losing any of their clarity, and the tone itself is not so polished that the music could ever feel sterile or plastic. Ominous, guttural vocals of the Incantation school, which, while not exactly original, are effectively menacing as they alternate between echoed, sparser passages and a more percussive, hostile meter. The drums here are also quite versed and flexible, with a lot of thundering warlike fills and steadier rhythms that feel as if they were built of the mud, blood and brick that confine corpses to the band's lyrical catacombs. However, by far the 'star' of this show must be the lead sequences, like that of "Thrones Turned to Rust" which is diabolically fleeting as it caresses the grimy substrate of the evil riff below.

Ultimately, you will hands down want to own this EP if you've been following closely this latest crop of nostalgic death metal acts arising from both sides of the pond. Regardless of whether you are more interested in the elder Swedish and Finnish tones being wrought by acts like Miasmal, or the direct Incantation lineage to the sounds of Disma, Vasaeleth and so forth, there is something here for you. Engulfed in Desolation is not flawless in its ratio of unforgettable riffing, perhaps, but the fact that it so effortlessly marries the libations to its influences with a strong, competitive studio sound should see it spurred forward in accreditation. Most importantly, these Englishmen have not forgotten that ages old, seemingly abandoned concept that death metal, like any other sub-genre, is first and foremost about the songs; that leaden, bludgeoning brutality is nothing without skilled pilots at the helm, and Cruciamentum have earned their licenses.

Verdict: Win [8.75/10]

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cruciamentum/285239791946

Cruciamentum - Convocation of Crawling Chaos [DEMO] (2009)

Lately we've heard all manner of wretched, old school death metal resurfacing across the face of today's trend-heavy society, but I cannot say that this is an unwelcome shift in progress. Maybe its the fact that a whole new generation of metal fans are beginning to 'get it', or maybe it's just a cyclic byproduct of our cold and uncaring universe, but bands from all over like Decrepitaph, Innumerable Forms, Denial, Obliteration and Vasaeleth are starting to forge the way for the hideous rebirth of late 80s/early 90s sonic atrocity, often coupled with the benefit of today's denser production possibilities.

Cruciamentum is actually one of the best bands I've heard in this movement, a British act with members from another, similar styled (and better known) group called Grave Miasma. Tempering the morbid hostility of the eldest Incantation albums with the occasional war stomp of a Bolt Thrower or the sub-thrash outbreak of Consuming Impulse era Pestilence, their Convocation of Crawling Chaos demo is a true pleasure to experience, and it will only cost you 18 minutes of your life. Well, it's possible the cost might be higher, as the sound these men produce is so hopeless and deadening that existence beyond its playtime might be called to question. Vocalist D.L. is a mixed breed of Martin van Drunen, Karl Willets and Craig Pillard, and the ichor of his intonations blends like another instrument to the band's highly grim and subterranean atmospheres. The riffs here are extremely base and cavernous, but the band have a strong sense for songwriting elements, like breaking for atmosphere or rolling into a chug riff with HUGE bass at exactly the right moment, so their crude efforts do not evoke any semblance of ennui.

The "Intromantical Scream" is but a choir being near muted below the rush of dark ambient turmoil, before the drum fill heralds the Bolt Thrower-like crushing of "Deathless Ascension", bass so thick it is rattling off like machine-gun fire from the cockpit of a tank, all the while the steady verse riffs giving you the impression of sinking through a tarpit to an underworld of phantoms being butchered by oblivion. At around 1:00 the track takes a brief, thrashing spin which reminds of Pestilence, and later slows to a floe of sparse, death/doom chords while D.L.'s vocals resonate off the top. "Convocation of Crawling Chaos" picks the pace back up to chugging, hellish warfare, with a riff not unlike something you might find on the first two Obituary albums. The final track "Rotten Flesh Crucifix" is re-inserted and extended from the band's earlier, single track demo of the same, with a style much like the others but a little more melody by way of some primal, obscure 90s Swedish band, and a great synthesizer swell near the climax.

In a way, Cruciamentum are old hat, but the best kind of old hat, the one that everyone stares at as you head out for your morning coffee. Totally repressive, evil atmosphere that evinces no stray light, no hope and no future. If you were swallowed by an Elder God, and slowly waiting to be digested throughout eternity, tendrils writhing and stinging your flesh with bowel acids, this is the music you'd probably hear somewhere deep within your consciousness. No rewards will be given for innovation, although like many of these new creatures, the production is simply massive in a way that few of the older recordings could muster. What more can I add? Cthulhu F'tangh! IÄ! IÄ! IÄ Cthulhu!

Verdict: Win [8.5/10]

http://www.myspace.com/cruciamentumuk