Siculicidium - Hosszú út az örökkévalóságba (2013)

Four years have passed since Siculicidium’s debut full-length “Utolsó vágta az Univerzumban”, and after a series of EP’s in 2012, the band is back in full swing with “Hosszú út az örökkévalóságba”. Never being huge fans of this three-piece from Romania, we are quite surprised of the quality of raw and unconventional Black Metal found in this latest effort. Mixing some atmospheric elements, creepy passages, and an overall uncompromising attitude, this release is quite diverse and yet traditional sounding to keep the hordes of BM fans clamoring for more.

Opening with the dreamy “Endless road” (we will use the English names of the songs to keep this review legible), the band sets a very bleak and melancholic atmospheric mood since the first few notes. The raw BM explosion beings with the punishing “The fragrance of decay”, a very visceral track featuring a typical old-school BM structure, very direct riffs, and rather traditional drums. Similar to bands like Midnight, “Lurker” has a ridiculous set of catchy riffs and drumming to give that filthy BM vibe that only a handful of bands can achieve. There is also a certain Punk-ish vibe to this track that makes it quite enjoyable.

Khrul continues to demolish the drums on another killer track under the name of “Cosmic fall” keeping the simple yet catchy approach to the max. This song also features excellent atmospheric elements that greatly enhance the experience, making it one of our favorite songs of the year. Things start to get very weird and creepy on the nightmare-inducing “This is us”, featuring very melancholic atmospheric passages filled with creepy vocal samples.

Moving into Avant-garde BM territories, “Transcendent melancholy” delivers waves of riffs packaged together with extra elements that greatly enhance the band’s already diverse and yet traditional sound. This track reminded us of bands like Aenaon and Mord’A’Stigmata. Closing with the very emotional “Long way to eternity”, the bleak atmospheric elements will sneak up on you and give that extra depressive magic to the track, particularly when paired with the clean vocals.

Overall, “Hosszú út az örökkévalóságba” is one hell of a release that shows a very mature evolution for Siculicidium. This Romanian band delivers seven expertly crafted tracks filled with bleak soundscapes and pummeling BM riffing in the old-school vein. If you are looking for raw and uncompromising Black Metal filled with a bleak and devastating atmosphere, look no further and get yourself a copy of this excellent album.

Label: Sun & Moon Records

Release: November 26th, 2013

Genre: Black Metal

Country: Romania