CULT OF LILITH — Arkanum (review)

CULT OF LILITH — Arkanum album cover EP · 2016 · Technical Death Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
UMUR
"Arkanum" is an EP release by Reykjavík based, Icelandic death metal act Cult of Lilith. The EP was independently released in January 2016. Cult of Lilith was formed in 2015 by guitarist Daniel Thor Hannesson and vocalist Jon Haukur Petursson and "Arkanum" is their first release. "Arkanum" features a couple of guest performances. Most notably the drums on the EP are played by Infernal Poetry drummer Alessandro Vagnoni.

The music on the 5 track, 19:14 minutes long EP is sci-fi/fantasy themed technical/progressive death metal. In that respect I´m reminded of albums like "Crimson (1996)" by Edge of Sanity and the maybe a little less known "Dorval (1994)" by the Danes in Detest, but it´s mostly in atmosphere and overall theme, rather than musical style. Cult of Lilith are generally much more focused on technical playing than any of the two mentioned references. While the music certainly is technical in nature, "Arkanum" is not the type of release that sacrifices catchiness or brutal groove over technical noodling (take a listen to the closing minute of "Tomb of Sa'ir" for an example of a memorable hook). There´s also a nice organic touch to the playing, so there´s a good balance between technical precision playing and raw organic death metal brutality. The vocals vary between deep intelligible growls and high pitched blackened vocals.

The material on the EP is relatively varied, featuring tempo- and time signature changes, vocal variation, and both brutal and more atmospheric moments. Add to that a well playing band and a detailed and powerful sounding production and "Arkanum" is a high quality first release by Cult of Lilith. This is definitely an act who shows a lot of promise and a 4 star (80%) rating is fully deserved.
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