Deadlight Sanctuary – Thaumaturgical Rites of the Damned (Abhorrently Not Kvlt Ritualistic Black Metal)

 

Sometimes I wonder how black metal can do the same old thing, but here I go again with that oft-stated conundrum. It’s the same thing with classic hardcore, punk, and the like. There’s always the typical, and that’s what pretty much runs the genre as a whole. But jeez, I say, why can’t more bands do stuff like this? That which isn’t entirely recognized for years and at the same time doesn’t receive unnecessary press just because it sounds different. That’s a big difference. Different for the sake of the term is usually marked by critics as awesome, when in reality they’re simply too used to the old stuff and anything new sounds good. To really prove yourself new, you have to be more like Deadlight Sanctuary.

   

In spite of its rather short run, Thaumaturgical Rites of the Damned presents a surprisingly dense package of black metal, eschewing the classic and shooing it aside. Deadlight Sanctuary has a most curious and arcane approach. Herein you’ll find indistinct, spectral chanting, ritualistic drums, but, most importantly, riff action stripped down to a repulsive level. A reference to war metal would seem appropriate, but this crudeness is combined with keyboards and echoing, layered, gular vocals less human and relatable. Considering how short it is, it’s rather surprising he’s able to pull out so much variety without doing it for the sake of difference. Crude, yet practiced, there is a clear connection to the general black metal crowd, but yet a separation as well. Abhorrent, as I’ve seen used in reference to this album, is fitting.

 

Deadlight Sanctuary is Too Cool for Facebook and Stuff

Deadlight Sanctuary – Thaumaturgical Rites of the Damned
Iron Bonehead Productions, Sentient Ruin Laboratories
Cover Art: BMS Illustration
4.5 / 5