Appalling announces its third album.
Two years after their split with Hoboknife, the American band created in 2016 and composed of B. M. (vocals, Fire Faithful, ex-Southern Vein), D. M. (guitar, ex-Fire Faithful, ex-Southern Vein), T. (guitar, Priests of Prometheus), B. (drums, Murkryth) and Daniel Morgan (bass) releases two new singles, followed by Sacrilege, their new album.
The album opens with The Morningstar After, a rather raw introduction that sets the foundation for an aggressive style topped with ominous and powerful vocal parts which drive to Life in Prism, a track with sharp leads. The saturated sound coupled with these unleashed drums remains quite Old School, as well as on these dissonant and cold harmonics lacerating us easily before Gilded Restraints comes to place crushing hypnotic sounds, letting the rhythmic basis progress without any difficulty. There is also a dark rage in the vocal parts before Death Metal roots resurface, then Unwavering Feeling of Dread and Despair lets the melodic but heavy Black Metal sounds come out again to feed the chilling atmosphere. The band continues with Father Inferior, already revealed a few months earlier, which offers us a more straightforward approach to this wave of unholy oppression, letting screams compete with leads under a solid and fast basis. The double kick rolls over us while guitars and unhealthy vocals guide us to Collection Plate, a track which is just as massive and unstoppable as the previous one which lets the piercing leads play an important role to mesmerize us while the vocalist unveils wilder tones before Pavilion authorizes its darkness to invade us with its unrestrained assault. The band doesn’t allow us any downtime, covering the softer parts with soaring leads just like on the ferocious Nunsploitation and its blasphemous but catchy riffs. The track is quite accessible despite its Old School mix and its killer patterns, and it will finally drop us on These People Need to Die, the last composition, which allows the musicians’ burning rage to express itself at full speed without forgetting threatening and massive vocals which answer to occult leads.
Sacrilege is my first contact with Appalling. I discovered icy sounds close to the Swedish scene, efficient patterns and fast rhythms, without forgetting unhealthy and expressive vocals which will undoubtedly please the amateurs of Old School darkness.
80/100