Orcultus
Orcultus 7

March 2014
Released: 2014, Forever Plagued Records
Rating: 4.0/5
Reviewer: Metal-Rules.com UK Team

Lurking in the mists of the Swedish darkness and sending out only the bleakest of offerings are ORCULTUS. Joining the ranks of black metal bands choosing to remain anonymous, this band are not about the names, the image or the faces; this is pure misanthropic black metal music. Stripped of the posing and the posturing the music is laid bare to stand up for itself. We are not even given the briefest glimpse into the subject of the lyrics, with the tracks simply translating to one, two, three and untitled. This is rage that has no target, no source, no direction; this is simply the sonic representation of aimless destruction.



There’s no trace of easy listening here, this is a dense and hefty offering, clearing only for the briefest seconds before throwing you straight back into the thrall. The sound is dripping in distortion, a claustrophobic clawing mass that drags you through 15 minutes of relentless noise, with every instrument battling for space in the mass of merged sounds that crash on in their own individual lines. There is homage to the old school sound with ORCULTUS, repetitive riffs and screeched vocals. Even the production lends itself to the raw sound, although this has left much of the album sounding tinny and lacking good bass.



Starting with an EP was the perfect choice for this first release, although there is a sold groove that powers through every song it is a sound that risks becoming stale and repetitive quickly. Despite not really scoring any points for originality, there is something about the sound that keeps drawing you back for more. ORCULTUS works subtly, this is not an album that makes an immediate impact, instead drawing you back in with every listen. This may be the first release from this band, but it’s a seriously strong offering from the band. This is a band every serious black metal fan should keep an eye on.