ALBUM REVIEW: Facilis Descensus Averno – Saevus Finis

The descent to hell is easy, it’s just a shame nobody told SAEVUS FINIS that when naming their debut Facilis Descensus Averno. Whilst their aim is to create music that blinds and suffocates you for moments at a time, you’re often sat reliving the horrors of being trapped in a dentist’s chair without enough anaesthesia. That is to say, there should be shots of pleasure with this pain, but at points, the descent to hell is made harder by its creators.

Scourge Of Humanity dots the i’s and crosses the t’s of blackened death metal — there are crackling fires, the screams of flaying flesh leaving the body, darkness incarnate. And then drummer MCMXII delivers a nauseously unhealthy dose of cacophonous blast beats as slabs of death-doom decimate your eardrums with discordant, distorted riffing that drags you down into its depths. 

For 21 minutes and five tracks straight, you’re dealt frustration that gestates in your mind like a child in the womb. On one hand, SAEVUS FINIS achieve their mission, suffocating your senses as they drill blast beats directly into your skull, and guttural growls invade your cranium like a parasitic worm taking control. On the other hand, by the time Thou Hast Destroyed Thyself becomes Unfulfillment, you feel unfulfilled by the desensitization of it all. The structures are so formulaic in style and sound that you become numb to the dissonance, and therefore numb to the uncomforting effect you’re meant to experience.

However, Facilis Descensus Averno has a redemption arc even Negan would’ve been proud of. Starting with a trilogy of songs — Corporeal Malfaesent, Those Who Aid And Abet and Corpse Of Hope — SAEVUS FINIS paint a new perspective of their band. Corporeal Malfaesent transports their formulaic death-doom to more blackened death territories, as melodeath riffs mask howling screams within the mix, echoing out like voices in the fog. 

In this trilogy, unlike anywhere else on Facilis Descensus Averno, is the space for every idea to breathe. Sure, it still suffocates, but it offers you the chance to appreciate Sangvis Aestvs’ bleeding ear basslines on Corporeal Malfaesent, or vocalist and guitarist Mortvorvm’s crowning vocals on Those Who Aid And Abet. The latter lingers long in your mind after, exploding out of the gates with breakneck intensity, not unlike Furor Divinus does on The Satanist.

By the time you hit the crackling flames of the palette-cleansing interlude Execration, and find yourself at the final stretch of the title track, you’re utterly convinced of one thing: had SAEVUS FINIS released Facilis Descensus Averno as a five-track EP, you’d have an EP of the year contender. Instead, you’re left with a maddening middle-of-the-road debut album.

Rating: 5/10

Facilis Descensus Averno is set for release on January 12th via Transcending Obscurity Records.

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