ALBUM REVIEW: Sangue – Culś

Here I review the debut full length from Italian Death Metal band SANGUE. Set for release on April 15th via Nuclear War Now!

1. In The Church begins with horror movie style sampling that sets an eerie and chilling mood for the music ahead, I really liked the creepy simplicity of this introduction, very effectively used.
2. They Do Not Rest (Clock of the Giants) fires right into meaty and dissonant grinding riffs, barrages of blasting drums and truly grotesque vocals. A raw, menacing and huge sounding first impact with blackened touches on the assaulting Death Metal. The frenzied solo really spoke volumes to the hideously meandering grooves that the band are hurling forth. The almost howls from the vocalist sound really cool over the convulsively surging instrumentals. Excellent lyrics and a repetitively impacting groove that feels like blunt force trauma certainly put the band in the right starting place. The song dissipates into doomy bass lines and haunting ambience that changes things in a really unexpected but pleasant way. A killer opening track.
3. Eerie Murmuring / Infinity Abysmal opens with built in thrashing riffs and upbeat drums, soaring guitar leads and a really tight and punchy groove to the rhythm. This drops into a totally anarchistic attack with epic vocals and gruellingly ferocious instrumentals. There is certainly a really fantastic sense of atmospherics coupled with their total drives into insanity, utilising some gorgeous riffs that cascade impenetrable darkness along with their totally punishing drum assaults. This track was absolutely fierce and totally glorious, excellent work.
4. Interlude / Call of the Gorgon sets in with more chilling sampling, adding further to the harsh overall atmosphere of the album that’s truly bleak. A really cool interlude for sure.
5. Shifting into Necrocosmos brings us back in with speedy riffs and a killer opening grunt from the vocalist. The blasting drums soon rejoin and we are given a well-rested and fully rejuvenated band whom throw us all the aggression in their arsenal. A hammering and bestial slab of warfare is how I would describe the sounds of this track with punchy drums that are truly powerful, snarled vocals and blistering guitars. Some ridiculously intense and evil sounding music, right from the bowels of hell with the demonic soundscapes being created in a precise yet also quite rudimentary manner for a brilliant Extreme Metal experience.
6. Her Cold Breath starts with chiming cymbal hits and feedback which works really well to set in the unhinging sounds for the doomy grooves ahead. The truly epic kick from the drums and chugging, grinding guitars work in perfect unity, especially when bound together by the hideous growls of the vocalist. Surging waves of menacing tremolo picked riffs add further to the tormenting nature of this piece. The upbeat, whiplash pace that follows is totally headbang worthy with so much bite to it. Another really tight track with some awesome full on Black Metal style waves of total speedy atmospheric hell-noise.
7. Interlude / Tuchulcha is gorgeously played with a vibe of The Cure to it from the bass player, a really sombre melody indeed but still coupled with the eerie ambient style of the previous interval. The use of this feels more like something one would find on a Lifelover album, so naturally I enjoyed it a lot!
8. The Rite of Cosmic Void blisters right back into hellish soundscape with monstrous rhythm/bass guitars, totally insane drum beats, harsh bellows from the vocalist and some really piercing lead touches right at the start. The convulsive and sickeningly heavy grooving piece that follows is truly something that is designed and executed perfectly to make a truly uncomfortable atmosphere fuelled by menacing hatred. Wicked!
9. When the Magus Whispers to the Sky shows no sign of the album coming to an end with thunderous bass guitar, a sudden grunt from the vocalist followed by the assimilation of drums and guitar into a totally glorious, full-speed assault. Soaring lead guitars for a couple of bars before dropping back to the solitary darkness of the full band doing a gristle-churning final track filled with as much rage and precise instrumental fury as the rest of the release is something to be respected. The only “outro” of sorts we get is a short ambient ending, which I really respect. A brilliant final track that packed in one last bout of high-octane action and Extreme Metal mania, wonderfully done!

This is some absolutely hideous, menacing and intimidating material, especially for a debut full length with only an EP preceding it. Crusty Death Metal mixed with elements of Black and Doom Metal with an end result that is discomforting, atmospheric and totally in your face. -8/10