[Cover art by Mörkt Artist – Francisco Ramirez]
Did you know that Chile has become a rapidly growing haven for phenomenal metal, particularly of the thrash and death persuasions? Or is your head firmly planted within your most robust posterior? If you’re one of those cranium-to-anus types, you owe an apology to our beloved Ryan Titsingirdles for ignoring his phenomenal Chile scene report back in 2021 that provides a perfect marriage of history lessons and musical recommendations. Feel free to atone by clicking over to read that piece now. Don’t worry, this review will still be here in, like, seven hours when you finish.
Sepulcrum is, first and foremost, a death metal band, but they’re a death metal band that remembers the genre’s roots are in thrash. Do you like Altars of Madness? Or is your noggin so far up your smelly dump-truck butt that you can kiss the bottom of your heart? Well, if you aren’t your own defibrillator, then Lamentation of Immolated Souls’ maze of tormented thrashing riffs and shredtacular leads should tickle your, presumably, untouched pickle.
Ok, sure, “Orbital Teratoma” starts with a classic 80’s mid-tempo lurching riff before a sickly tremolo run, but that thrash influence kicks into full gear at about the 1:15 mark. Then that riff gets even more potent when it’s backed by a second guitar playing the same riff. Nicolás Miranda’s dry David Vincent-esque bark and the scribbly lead by Oscar Gibert make that first bite of the record all the sweeter. In what seems to be one of the strengths of Chilean metal, the late part of the song opens up to feel slightly exploratory and let the guitars move, wind and lead off the leash.
Like “Orbital Teratoma,” “Legion’s Mandate” and “Sick Delusion” both land on the upper end of the album’s song runtimes by going past five minutes. Each leverages space and pace to its advantage compared to the shorter tracks. “Legion’s Mandate” lets Nicolás Espinoza lead the way with his fantastic bass notes and tone for nearly 45 seconds toward the end. “Sick Delusion” also has a killer Autopsy moment around the 3:30 mark, where the guitars wail out to key a transition in the song. It will be interesting to see if they lean into this approach a bit more in the future to create two-to-three-minute mini-thrash jam sessions within their songs. That could provide a great feeling of expansiveness and untethered freedom within a track, particularly when paired with the type of biting quick hits they’re already dishing out.
Speaking of quick hits, the title track is a pure tremolo death pummel for its first half, with Sebastián Zúñiga unleashing his best fills and most anxious drum patterns. At the halfway point, the song completely stops before exploding into full-tilt thrash chaos. “Schizophrenic Amputation” is the album’s most frenetic track, with angular riffs played at such a speed as to be only describable as skittish. The lead work on it feels haunted, like the frantic pace of the song is actively releasing the swirl of spindly spirits on the cover art. While not so much a quick hit with a four-minute runtime, “Slitting Coagulated Mass” has one of my favorite moments of the album, where the repeated riff cycles in such a way that it gives the song a sense of escalation before the guitars cut into a powerful riff that feels all the stronger as it’s backed by breakdown drumming without an actual breakdown.
What other classic death metal tropes are on this record, you ask? There’s a creepy acoustic intro (“Caustic Inhalation”), a goofy “we’re going to get you” audio sample (“Sick Delusion”), and all the song titles could’ve easily been pulled from your favorite early-90s gem. You’ll hear the Morbid Angel influence very early on in Lamentation of Immolated Souls, but you’ll surely be curious about how big of fans these four Chilean death-heads really are. Well, they have a throwaway guitar instrumental track at number four, just as their forefather Trey Azagthoth would mandate. Is that fan enough for you? Or has your brain holder passed so far through your tuchus as to be protruding back through your neck again?
Despite any silliness, Sepulcrum has delivered a strong, speedy and frantic dose of thrashy death metal that is well worth your time. And if you don’t want to give Sepulcrum a chance, that’s fine. You can keep enjoying your life with that meatball on your neck nestled uncomfortably in your rectum.
