Get ready for the punch that is Sermon To The Lambs.
Simply titled Sermon To The Lambs, the debut album from Richard Aguayo (vocals, formerly of Esophagus), Mauro M. (guitar/bass, Esophagus), and Victor Araneda (drums, formerly of Esophagus) is out now on Comatose Music.
What can we expect from former and current members of Esophagus other than raw, old-school violence (complete with that characteristic snare drum sound) from the very first track, Crowned King Of Worms? Each riff makes us grimace with pleasure, each roar from the Chileans makes us want to punch someone in the face, and the artwork by Par Olofsson (Winds Of Plague, Unleashed, Thy Art Is Murder…) also hints at what’s to come: once it starts, the album doesn’t stop, like Saints are Centurions of an Aristotelian Christ, which might just be my favorite track on the album! If the sound allows us to breathe, it’s only to better trample our ears in proper fashion, whether through pachydermic, under-tuned rhythms or devastating drums, all set to varying tempos, whether fast or slow, as dictated by the code of brutal death metal. We are also treated to a few samples, such as on Maximum Apostasy or the final of Clergy’s Malevolence, reinforcing the anti-religious aspect, then the band ends their album with God Spat And The Man Was Done, a bonus track with a catchy groove, but also a second version of Clergy’s Malevolence with a VIP guest: Jeff Page from Manifestations.
Comatose Music rarely makes a mistake when signing bands on their first album, and they’ve hit the mark again with Sermon To The Lambs! Sermon To The Lambs grabs you by the collar, slaps you around for thirty minutes, and leaves you lying on the floor. A worthy successor to Esophagus!
90/100
