Unhuman Disease – De Templi Autem Veteris Serpentis

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Black and boundless in its destructive and devotional might…

Devoured by Jason Guest

Moribund Records

Release: 26 February 2016

Diabolically dark and brutally belligerent, the ominous menace of Unhuman Disease’s seventh album is palpable. The fiery riffs and corrosive vocals that burn through these eight intensely structured satanic rituals are nothing less than fierce. Across the album, mainman Nocturnus Dominus constructs an array of solid and scorching foundations and embellishes them with melodic trem-picked guitar lines that counter his acidic vocals and imbues the tracks with a majestic darkness and a distinctly sinister depth.

While openers ‘Maleficient Devoutness’ and ‘Obscurity Of Invocation’ are both blazing and unrestrained bursts of black metal vehemence, ‘Inner Ascension To Incandescence’ emphasises the more mystical aspects of the album by dragging the tempo down and sharpening up the piercingly cold trem-picked guitar melodies for a track that is as furious as it devastating. And ‘Behold The Magnificence Of Satan’ is, again, a blaze of melodic malice but with riffs that tear at each other and pull the listener further into its all-consuming shadows.

So far, so satanic. But then, with ‘Accursed Ritual’ the atmosphere of the album begins to twist even darker. An ambient/atmospheric piece fashioned of ghostly and ghastly voices echoing in its eerie, chamber-like depths, the centrepiece of the album provides the respite and solitude required to fully absorb the satanic glory encountered thus far. And with ‘Illuminated Eternal’ casting us back into the foray, we endure the melancholic fervour of ‘Holy Flames Of Perdition’ before the supernatural splendour of ‘De Templi Autem Veteris Serpentis’ finally devours us.

Searing and snaking riffs, melodies that wind and tighten their hold with each repetition, a vocal that is as grim as it is gripping, Nocturnus Dominus has delivered an album that balances nuance and nightmare with ferocity and fervent devotion throughout. Black at its core and boundless in its destructive and devotional might, De Templi Autem Veteris Serpentis is an album to play while you watch the world burn.

Unhuman Disease – De Templi Autem Veteris Serpentis8 out of 10

Track Listing:

  1. Maleficient Devoutness
  2. Obscurity Of Invocation
  3. Inner Ascension To Incandescence
  4. Behold The Magnificence Of Satan
  5. Accursed Ritual
  6. Illuminated Eternal
  7. Holy Flames Of Perdition
  8. De Templi Autem Veteris Serpentis