Kingdom - Sepulchral Psalms from the Abyss of Torment

KINGDOM - Sepulchral Psalms from the Abyss of Torment (GODZ OV WAR - CD 2016)

It’s been a while since the release of “Morbid Priest of Supreme Blasphemy” album and “Temple of Death” cassette EP. But Kingdom is back, once again in very good form and their newest album “Sepulchral Psalms from the Abyss of Torment” is truly a savage and vicious recording, which should appeal to all death and black metal maniacs. I do mean it; because this album is a fantastic combination of both styles, played in raw, morbid way of old school. Obviously it’s mainly based in the death metal sound, this is the fundament of Kingdom music, but the black metal influence can be spotted here also, alike to bands like Embrace of Thorns, Bestial Raids, Teitanblood and sometimes even going back in time to Darkthrone’s “A Blaze In the Northern Sky”.

Anyway, “Sepulchral Psalms from the Abyss of Torment” sounds fantastic. When I started to listen to this album, I immediately knew that it’s gonna rip the fuckin guts out and that it’s a fine crushing stuff. The production is so bloody good here, as it’s harsh and heavy, but at the same time it’s bloody powerful, so every sound is like a massive punch in the face and the music has this great obscure feeling, which correspondents fantastically with the overwhelming heaviness and brutality of Kingdom music. The sound is also quite organic, it all sounds just properly and far from artificial, plastic productions of many nowadays bands, even those, which also call their music “old school”.

The music is as extreme as old school metal can be, and it delivers some fantastic riffs and arrangements, with every song having something special to offer. They may sound a bit like some old Morbid Angel, Acheron and Incantation, like in fantastic “Sepulcral Psalms”, “Abyss of Torment” or “Whispering the Incantation of Eternal Fire”, when the tempo is slowed down. But when the band speeds up, then a real hell breaks loose and damn, it’s more like Throneum meets Angel Corpse, Vital Remains and BM bands I mentioned earlier. Such beasts as “Monolith of Death” will strike fast and kill with no mercy! I love this intensity, heaviness, morbid feeling and gloominess of Kingdom music, I truly think they have some great riffs and the vocals of LWN are also worth mentioning. Among all the songs, “Kaplica ducha zgniłego” definitely stands out, as with the Polish lyrics this song sounds even more blasphemous and obscure than anything else here. And the riffing in this song, as well as the vocal parts are insanely good.

Standout tracks: “Abyss of Torment”, “Kaplica ducha zgniłego”, “Sepulcral Psalms”, “Whispering the Incantation of Eternal Fire”

Final rate: 80/100