Reviewed by Ian Webber

Describing their sound as Christian black metal and donning corpse paint for the album artwork gives the listener a fair idea what to expect from this Mexican three piece. In spite of this there are surprises in store as "Dios De Dioses" (God Of Gods) opens with a choral/spoken track and includes an almost operatic vocal laced over "Ancient Fires Burn". The majority of the recording however is still full of crunching guitars and speed-driven drumming producing a sound that is probably stands closer to death metal with a distinctive Scandinavian feel. Standout features of this recording include the scratchy, almost breathy vocals of Azmaveth and some impressive rhythmic pounding by Michael Cook (from A Hill To Die Upon) who makes a guest appearance. Production is good, producing a tight, punchy feel, but unless Spanish is a language you are familiar with the lyrics will be beyond comprehension and there is no transcription to accompany the English song titles. This heavy weight release is highlighted by electronic noise as in the title track but there are incidences at times of repetitive lumbering riffs that lack the variation needed to capture the listener. "Lord Of High" does its best to provide diversity with some slower breakdowns and changes in rhythm, but whilst solid this recording started to sound a little repetitive towards the end.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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