Drown in Sulphur continues its rise.
A year after their last album, Manuel Riboldi (vocals), Erik Bellan (guitar), Ciprian Grigore (guitar), and Domenico Francesco Tamilia (drums) are back with a new EP, Strix, produced by Noble Demon.
Neither Night Nor Day offers a fairly calm introduction before the riffs hit us full force, delivering heaviness and dissonance even before the screams bring the violence to the forefront, propelling us with their jagged riffs into a landscape of intense devastation. The track gives us no respite, thoroughly crushing us before Groan From the IXth Circle picks up the pace, alternating vocal parts to put us through hell while the rhythm section tears us apart, taking on a heavier tone during the devastating break. Another surge in intensity comes with New Moon Rising On Florence, a track that offers as much blast beat as it does a thoroughly unsettling atmosphere, building pressure before a punishing break that pins us to the ground, just as Oscolum Infame takes up the torch to unleash even more darkness and oppressive passages. Accelerations and arrangements flow naturally, evoking a nightmarish, anxiety-filled journey, just as The Heptad Omen delivers one final blow right to the face, offering one of the EP’s most furious rhythms with unexpected shifts but above all, a coherence that’s just as intense, making this final track a true block of incandescent marble that will leave a lasting impression.
Drown in Sulphur hasn’t been around for very long, but the band knows exactly how to make its mark on the scene, making Strix a weapon of choice to expose us to the darkness and dissonance of its violence.
85/100