Been a fan of Auroch for some time now, and I’ve enjoyed seeing how they’ve twisted and evolved over time. This, I think, is both their mightiest and most interesting endeavour to date: a twitching, seething mass of primal death metal (think: Morbid Angel / Incantation) riven with creeping, unexpected atmospherica. These latter elements sound almost like they’ve been obtained as field recordings from secret, esoteric rituals, and have expertly folded in so as to form part of the wider tableau. When combined with the relentless churn of the music and the variegated vocals (chants and quiet, sibilant invocations join the genre-specific gargles) the results are both obscene and magnificent … a deep, dread-infused work that touches greatness and suggests very powerful things indeed are ahead.
