Comprising of three mysterious characters, Cultum Interitum are something of an enigma. With each band member hidden behind masks and only known by an initial, they’re a three-piece black/death metal hybrid who radiate secrecy. However, this mask of impenetrability has the benefit of bringing their dark sound to the fore, and when an album is as good as Sacrum Funeral, that’s precisely where it should be. This is their third long player and one that finds them honing their dark art into a black magic maelstrom.
Like a microphone dipped into the very depths of hades and then recording all sorts of tortured sounds, ‘S’ begins with a discombobulating introduction, and one that is sure to raise the hackles on your neck. It’s an intro that draws us deep into the band’s lair; like walking into a haunted cottage on a moonlit night, you know you shouldn’t, but the pull is just too strong. This means that when the band kick in around the two-and-a-half minute mark, it is with some force. With plenty of distortion on the guitar, this track seems to crackle like a witch’s cauldron, and when the blast beat arrives, it sends things into overdrive, and it is these constant shifts, of never knowing from which angle the band will attack next, that makes Sacrum Funeral such an engaging listen.
With vocals that reek of the Devil’s foul breath, ‘A’ arrives like a bat out of hell and freezes the listener with its glacial coolness. Although Sacrum Funeral has a few guest appearances, they largely operate as an unholy trinity, and these reduced numbers help the band create a brutal sound. Everything is parred back and boiled down into its purest form; there’s no excess fat on the band’s sound and this singular vision makes for a brutal sound, and one that offers little in the way of redemption.
The best thing about Cultum Interium is that they don’t paint themselves into a musical corner. While black metal forms the core of their sound, they are far more expansive than that. There are doomy passages on here that could easily swing with Black Sabbath, the more explosive moments remind me of crust punk, while the instrumental ambles have a touch of dungeon synth about them. Final track ‘M’ (you guessed it; the six tracks spell “SACRVM”) pulls all these various strands into a collective whole and serves up a smorgasbord of all that is good and heavy to deliver a track that is a skullcrusher in every sense.
Album number three finds Cultum Interitum at the peak of their powers to deliver a career-defining album. It’s time you joined their Cultum.
- Sacrum Funeral is released via Godz Ov War Productions and is available now (from here).
Track List:
- S
- A
- C
- R
- V
- M
