Fidelium

With “Despoilment of Origin”, Birmingham's Sarpanitum became somewhat of a quiet sensation. Praised and exalted on forums and message boards the world over, the band's debut would readily go head to head in debate with the best discs of Nile or Behemoth. And rightly so, “Despoilment of Origin” remains an unusually confident debut release which performs far above its humble beginnings. Yet despite all this, I always felt that the band had firmly rooted themselves within a niche that would prove difficult to crawl out of. As we all know, the clone band label does not go away easily, especially when projected onto bands as big as the Niles and Behemoths of this world.

It was therefore a tremendous surprise to me when thrown into the maelstrom of the opening track of Fidelium that the sound of the band has metamorphosed beautifully into something new and exciting. Not only is this the case, but the newer Sarpanitum is refreshing and original to the point that parallels and references to other artists are difficult to make.

Just within the first track, “None Shall They Receive” we are treated to melody, blistering speed, complex chord work and gigantic, cavernous atmospheria. This is mature and powerful death metal at its finest, and while the influences of the band remain visible in the chaos, this is not worship by any means – it is unique and purposeful.

The EP marches on to its strongest track, “Before the Walls” which treats the listener to a more entropic and unpredictable pummeling, embellished with some incredible emergent chord progressions and arpeggios. Juxtaposing the lightening quick assault is the ending of the track, which clears the mist with a cloudy and cathartic black metal passage, accompanied by choral chants. The songwriting of this track is particularly concise and clear, with only 5 minutes of the listener's time taken to express a range of ideas that most death metal bands would struggle to cover across an album playtime.

Guitar solos and interesting lead work are also done tastefully throughout, with the final track “Sanctus Incendia” containing a repeating lead motif that would not sound out of place in a power metal song, yet it is gelled into the surrounding music in such a way that it works. This lead work is often supplemented by tasteful sampling, be it gentle symphonic elements or ritualistic vocal chanting.

Confident and eclectic this disc may be, but there are some shortfalls here that are worth exploring. The instrumental title track I feel adds nothing to the music, this may be because the track is about twice as long as it should be. On a disc where songwriting is so punchy and concise that most songs float at around 5 minutes, it seems strange to me to have a 2 minute long ambient instrumental piece.

The second major qualm I had initially was the guitar tone, although admittedly this is a grower. I have never been a fan of the treble heavy Morbid Angel – Heretic style guitar tone which Mithras et al have become so beguiled by, but Sarpanitum pull it off better than others. For some of the more expressive chord work, the tone is functional, but for single note riffs, the guitars sound quite thin and artificial.

Fidelium is a strong release, and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in extreme metal which is not entirely conventional or straightforward. The EP is brutal, yet atmospheric; melodic yet chaotic, and I eagerly await a full length from Sarpanitum exploring and experimenting with this newer, less formulaic direction.