EP REVIEW: Sacrament – Lvcifyre

The extreme metal scene in the UK is enjoying a period of incredible strength at the moment. Over the course of the 2010s, the isles have produced countless outfits of incredible strength – some have rocketed to the international stage, some have fallen by the wayside, but together they have helped mould the UK extreme metal scene into one that rivals our European and American counterparts. Though formed in the latter stage of the naughties, it wasn’t until 2011 before London blackened death metallers LVCIFYRE released their debut album – The Calling Depths – and 2014 before they really hit their stride with the incredible Svn Eater. Though, five years on, there is still no sign of a new full length, LVIFYRE are back with their first EP in over a decade to tide us over til the next album: Sacrament.

Sacrament starts off, arguably, with its strongest moment – the epic, seven-and-a-half-minute The Greater Curse. LVCIFYRE slowly build the atmosphere over the opening 100 seconds, before the riffs and low, guttural vocals of front man T. Kaos smash down like a hammer blow. Dripping with dissonance and brutality at every turn, The Greater Curse slices it’s way through its substantial run time like its nothing, immediately drowning the listener in its oppressive atmosphere. Deaths Head In Bloom continues the trend, with a slow, atmospheric introduction – complete with a rumbling bass-line and demonic spoken word – before delving into a crushing groove and blasts of blackened ferocity.

After the intense interlude of Shadowy Wing, LVCIFYRE delve into the final original song on Sacrament – the EP’s title track. The NILE influence of the band is at its strongest here, will all the brutality and dissonance merging effortlessly with doses of second wave, blackened riffing. Bursts of atonal lead work build throughout the track, culminating in an all-too-brief solo that could have benefited from being extended, but the solo is quickly forgotten as the band stomp their way to Sacrament‘s closing moments. To end the EP, LVCIFYRE recorded a cover of Morderca, from the legendary Polish metallers KAT‘s 666 album. Featuring a far simpler, earlier black metal sound than much of Sacrament, it feels a little out of place, but is a fun finale to the release none the less.

From the opening moment, Sacrament shows us exactly why LVCIFYRE are one of the premier offerings in the UK extreme metal scene. Combining a dose of NILE-esque atmosphere, technicality and dissonance with plenty of blackened abrasion and sonic darkness, they have unleashed arguably the most uncomfortably crushing 20-minute experience so far in 2019. It’s been a long wait for a follow up from LVCIFYRE, and it will be a longer wait still before we get their third album, but in the meantime the aural hellscape of Sacrament should keep us well sustained.

Rating: 8/10

Sacrament out now via Dark Descent Records. 

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