Sanctum Regnum / In Perpetuum

Columbian death/doom emerges from the meeting point of barbaric purpose and funereal despondency. Basic atonal riff shapes oscillate between stirring marches of energetic momentum and depressive chasms opening before the listener with each descending chord pattern. Essentially taking the Hellhammer formula and decreasing the tempo considerably, Liturgia treat frugality as a creative opportunity, as the most basic progressions are worked through to a place first of high drama, then of resolution.

The production, as one might expect, is of demo quality. One can hear the reverb of the practice room behind the drum track as they lurch through simple, plodding rhythms punctuated by moments of utter chaos. Simple fills add a fragment of diversity to the picture, as slow tom rolls and clattering cymbals fill the hole left by dynamics that a richer mix might have captured. The guitar tone, despite its sharp distorted edges, is capable of carrying the oppressive weight implied by the droning doom segments. The lack of any ornate effects – something the recording would not have been able to accommodate in any case – allows us a full, undistracted view of fledging extreme metal at its most primal. Vocals offer a bite of aggression, working through gruff barks of desperate import, broken up by the occasional wail of high drama or manipulated, demonic undulation.

Despite the importance of atonality within these pieces, a comparison could be drawn with early Varathron for the mixing of primitive Celtic Frost divergences – via early Samael – with an aspirational, almost regal sense of its own significance. This is epic in the truest sense. Not a lavish application of strings, orchestral ephemera, or painfully drawn out runtimes. The longform intent behind these compositions is clear, as themes – basic as they are – are gradually unpacked and reworked through a series of stop start segments that link logically into the next. A finale, usually characterised by near total loss of control, brings these elements to a shocking conclusion, before the music is brought back from the brink to a place of control and poise, recapitulating the original idea, now viewed by the listener in a new light following the journey taken through the dark corridors of each piece.

Originally published at Hate Meditations