Immurement, Spirits and Graveyard Chants

There is always place for one more metal album produced in Poland so I was glad when I stumbled upon Sepulchral Cult. Consisting of just two fellas this act has been formed in 2019 and after a first demo in 2020 we have now got their first full length, titled “Immurement, Spirits and Graveyard Chants”. While this album name might come across a bit long-winded the music on display most certainly is not. As one could have guessed by the band name and the rotten cover artwork what we got here is a hefty dose of raw and straight-into-the-guts old school goodness.

The guitar playing and the classic buzz-sawing tone sometimes remind of traditional death metal akin to some famous Swedish bands, but some of the chord progressions and main themes also have a slight US vibe to them. Rapid tremolo pickings and relentless blast-beat are used in places, but Sepulchral Cult do not shy away from implementing some chords that have more of a punkish vibe to them as well as some slower doomy sections. Things are always kept pretty straight-forward, with the music often being as dirty as some of the stuff Autopsy has put out. Although the song structures and patterns seem a bit simplistic on the surface there are some subtle twists and turns and some more technical sections as well.

You will find the typical stoic chords as well as choppy riffs and sections where the rhythm and the tempo varies a bit more. It speaks for the songwriting skills of the band that this kind of elements always feel naturally embedded into the bigger picture. The rhythms are always groovy and even in the more sophisticated sections the patterns seem well structured and each break is there for a reason. In the end the most emphasis has been put on creating easily enjoyable and groovy songs. With an average song length of under three minutes there is not much fecking around, as each track comes to the point from the get-go. The big exemption is the song “Apparition of a Dream” clocking in at 8:47 minutes, presenting everything Sepulchral Cult are all about.

The production is perfectly fitting this kind of music. The guitars are droning and have enough filthiness to satisfy each fan of old-school metal music. The drums are powerful in a way, without sounding too sterile and the overall mix is very transparent and pure. In some ways this kind of putrid and slightly washed-out production choice reminded me of Petrification's fantastic album "Hollow of the Void". The vocals are also on point, with the growling coming across cavernous and raspy, withound sounding overdone. Overall “Immurement, Spirits and Graveyard Chants” is a nice little gem that easily deserves a place in the collection of fans of rotten old school death metal, played with a lot of energy and passion.