Sacra Doctrina

While a lot of Polish extreme metal band can be counted among the world’s most famous ones there are a few still dwelling in the shadows. One such band that deserves more attention than they actually get are black metal masters Hegeroth. I have become a fan thanks to their 2019 and 2020 full lengths and so I was pleasantly surprised when I heard a new album is ready. “Sacra Doctrina” is the name and Hegeroth keep following their path without reinventing themselves. Instead of experimenting too much they build on their strengths and deliver an early black metal highlight of 2022.

One attribute they have developed over their past work is the knack for throwing out melody sequences that are incisive and memorable, but carry a somehow strange and dark undertone. There is something subtly obscure in the way the lead guitar harmonies have been written, but overall everything is put into a very traditional context. Opener “In Torment - part 1” is a statement of intent which is part savage beast, part infectious revelry, but all in all irresistible enthrallment. This one as well as all the following songs comes equipped with toxic grooves and contagious hooks within waves of creative and emotional enmity. Driven by superb guitar craft and expression Hegeroth tear through the 39 minutes of this album in unstoppable and convincing manner, making sure there is no filler material to be found here. While probably not the most innovative approach there is a lot to like for fans of grim and pure black art.

At times there is a similarity between tracks, but continual focus on unveiling individual creativity helps every song to develop its own distinct character. Songs like “From Nothingness” make up for another peak to the album with its almost revengeful ambience and prowling harmonies, embedded into a nice mid-tempo groove. The playing is top notch, and while for most of the time the tracks are written in cohesive manner expected turbulence and outbreaks of poisonous savagery are never far from the surface of the songs. Some of the best moments appear whenever certain unsettling and evil-sounding lead melodies are prowling into the picture in addition to the main theme, like e.g. in the middle of “In Torment – part 3”. These kind of nightmarish and cataclysmic sequences are crawling under the skin and lend the album a ghoulish quality.

Hegeroth’s approach to writing music is electrifying, the songs’ soaring, sweeping intensity being near-celestial in their blazing magnificence. They create sensations that are both gloomy and crazed, the music coiled with tension and laden with a feeling of hopelessness. “Sacra Doctrina” is filled with awesome and varying black metal, with fast drums and razor-sharp guitars played fast and melodic, exactly like this style was intended to be. The vocals are also as creepy as it gets and add to the immersive and intense atmosphere of the music. Also it has to be stated that the sound has been polished compared to the band’s prior outings, highlighting all details in perfect manner. Hegeroth have delivered a piece of work with all the great attributes for which black metal has been known for decades now, but it’s with a fresh perspective and new blood to add to the mix that they do an exemplary job at providing us with a carefully crafted genre album.