Photo by Jack LatimerThe Quietus is now streaming Cruciamentum's debut album, Charnal Passages, in full, and I'm getting a copious amount of side-eye from passing Vice colleagues for inadvertently headbanging at my desk right now. It's impossible to throw this record on and have any other reaction, though, especially if you love slimy vintage Morbid Angel licks and Immolation-style bludgeonings. There are even unexpected shades of Nile's "Cast Down the Heretic" in the anthemic "The Conquered Sun (The Dying Light Beyond Morpheus Realms)," a nod to the technical influences that quietly seep into even the murkiest, grooviest death/doom.There's plenty of atmosphere to be found, especially in the slow, measured moments between blasts, but at its core, Charnel Passages is simply pristine death metal, created by those who understand this ancient art and possess enough mastery of the form to make a decades-old genre seem fresh and dangerous.The album is now available from Profound Lore Records, with a vinyl version to follow via Profound Lore and Me Saco Un Ojo Records later this autumn. For now, dive headlong into Charnal Passages below:
Kim Kelly will never stop desk moshing. She's on Twitter - @grimkim