In Saeculis Obscuris

This week I was introduced to Schattenkult Produktionen, a German label, which has been around for few years and managed to unleash about seventy titles so far. Sadly I didn’t know any of them, but I was lucky to get some of their recent releases… and Goholor is the first CD which I played from this small stack. This band is from Slovakia and “In Saeculis Obscuris” is their debut MCD, so it’s new band with two members, who also play in Dimonsium Chaotic.

And well, without any expectations or any guess as what this music can be like, now I know that this MCD is a good and solid start for Goholor. I certainly like their music, as it has a great aggressive style of death and black metal, glued a bit in the vein of Belphegor and such, with a small dose of more brutal sounding Behemoth. It’s played with good balance between fast and mid paced tempos, with great furious, sharp riffs, evil atmosphere and with growling and harsh screaming vocals. As for the technical aspect of Goholor's music, I cannot say anything bad about it. Nice production, good performance from all band members, solid compositions… When listening to “In Saeculis Obscuris”, you can almost regret that it all ends so quickly, because four songs and 15 minutes of music showed some great potential that Goholor certainly has. Each song is very solid and interesting, with “Obscurus Sacramentum” probably being my favourite piece here…

...and well, I don’t think anything more is needed to be said here. If you enjoy aggressive, dark sounding death / black metal, but with relatively good production, not one which sounds like recorded in the fuckin bunker, then this should be a good offer for you. Check it out, also because it’s quite rare to hear as good band from Slovakia.

Standout track: “Obscurus Sacramentum”
Final rate: 75/100

In Saeculis Obscuris is the debut release from Slovakian death metal trio Goholor. The short and vicious EP was released through the combined effort of Symbol of Domination Productions and Shattenkult Produktionen at the tail end of January 2016. Though it’s only sixteen minutes long, it packs a powerful punch that will give many of the stalwarts a run for their money.

From start to finish In Saeculis Obscuris is a razor sharp attack of furious death metal riffing, with just a touch of black metal trem styling, and pummeling, often blasting percussion. The production is top notch, allowing everything to shine through nicely. Despite the modern production, Goholor bring a sound that could be likened to the death and black metal monsters of the mid to late ’90s. Most of the run time is comprised of fast moving and precise death metal riffing and blasting percussion. The riffs are intense and monstrous, yet often offer underlying melodies via fast paced trem trails and short minor key movements to break things up.

It’s quite refreshing to hear a band eschew an overly technical approach in favor of old school styling, while not delving into murky, basement dwelling production. The tracks are heavy and frenetic, while not getting lost in that swirling that so many acts often use to hide sloppy instrumentation. The gents in Goholor prove to be quite capable instrumentalists, quickly switching tempos at a moment’s notice. The dual vocal approach gives a full bodied sound, the main one being a deep and gravelly bellow while the other is a slightly higher-end, raspy growl.

Rushing through the sixteen minutes without so much as a second of wasted space, Goholor are out to make a name for themselves. The furious assault should please fans of Behemoth, Dissection and Hate, as this brings the same type of destructive fury with polish as those bands are known for; something not often found on debut releases. The future seems quite bright for this Slovakian trio; and by bright I mean they have the potential to grab the death/black metal scene by the throat and demand attention.

Written for The Metal Observer.