Infernalistica

The recording is raw of course, rough a little bit, but bewitching on the whole. The "snare" sound is made almost in the mould of the immortal creation (let me be a little pompous, please?) of the "Reflections of the Solstice" album by Goatlord. And, I must say, not only the guitar sound, but also guitar passages and techniques are very accordant with this "drum" sound. The "kick" sound is made like an unostentatious click, although when the "double bass pedal" sounds long, the venom of samples creeps into the ears. In the last song "The Deflagration of the Descent into Limbo Majesty" the drum part is original, inviting, while also aggressive. Yes, it's a drum machine, but at least it was programmed fine!

"Infernalistica" is wonderful composer's work. Definitely excellent! Actually, the music is very similar to the early Abigor by the structure of the songs and by the chords manner. The melodies, however, are more imbued with the spirit of fatality than ones by the Austrians. That's why there is less aggression in the Lucifugum music. Also the guitar riffs are a little reminiscent of early Ulver sometimes, but only a little. Well, these mentioned analogies solely give originality to the band. I would also like to note the repeatedly used technique of reechoing guitars. Unexpected breaks of guitar riffs are a good catch too, although, maybe this is a known "schtick" of Lucifugum.

If the music invigorated me at one stroke, the vocals upset me. However, then I got used to it. Clearly the singer gained experience, but this observation doesn't apply to the singing with the clean vocals. And when he (or she? I'm not sure about the responsibilities of the vocal roles between band members) screeches, it is definitely a very good catch again. It is fortunate that this deed is often used. In its turn the "roll call" by the "wretched" voice in the third song "The Uncreated Transfiguration" is, to put it lightly, not the best move.

And one more thing. The "Infernalistica" album is the rare occurence when the "Russian" lyrics aren't jarring to my ears (indeed I don't like Slavic vocals in metal music, shame on me). Although the booklet contains lyrics to every song, and I even tried to read the texts, I can't guarantee that I translated the song titles correctly. "Tried" because the colour-grade of the booklet, the font, the font size, and the lack of spaces between the words – all this prevents listener from being able to read lyrics. It seems Lucifugum's wicked design is involved here. Anyway, I'm happy to oblige your curiosity: the Lucifugum lyrics is some kind of working of a sick imagination. In Old Slavic, or more truly in pseudo-Old Slavic. It isn't a pagan crap or some "welcome to ancestors legacy" pathos, so I like it.