Review by Alex on May 6, 2019.

Unholy be thy name, what the fuck have we here? A band that has skidded under then skirt of bestial black death metal, inseminated and impregnated her with keyboards in so her offspring is scarred and stared at with disbelief. And the doctor delivering this abomination, Iron Bonehead Records, killer music from the iron-smith. Deathwomb hail from Spain, after releasing a demo in 2017 which I’m yet to hear, the band feels confident they have enough to defile the genre. So here we sit in anticipation of the newly bred beast, one that can be heard causing carnage in the delivery room as many doctors and nurses succumb during the act of relieving the suffering bitch from an agonizing vulva tearing birth. And what is that hissing, what is that wriggling and that scent, so putrid so miserable and condemning, as nasally crucifying as raw molasses, it’s Moonless Night Sacraments. 

I put my fishing hook in the lake of all things reprehensible and look what I found. Ten tracks that crush whilst softening your wounds for the next affliction. Moonless Night Sacraments could be deemed as 2019s bastard baby of bestiality. The riffs are there in full force and power almost reminiscent of some Blasphemy material. Drumming precise, raw, ferocious and fundamentally war metal. Vocals are a whispering whirlwind of witchery and worthlessness. And the keyboard synth, good fuck, memorable and catchy even as those nasty nasal upheavals are factored in. Opening with a classic horror movie sample (can't remember from what movie) and following it up with a colorful display of aggression and tempo changes, Deathwomb shows the attendees of the ceremony just how splendid corruption is and could be if managed well. “Tablets of Fire”, “Eternal Oaths of Chaos” and “The Ancient Serpent” to name a few, shuffle fast among synth, death metal riffing and war metal; like a newborn in a cradle, gentle at times but recklessly kicking when it’s hungry. 

Moonless Night Sacraments is both delicate and rough musically, as mentioned there is a high degree of keyboards to be heard but it does not dilute the aggression staple to bestial black/death metal. Guess you could attribute that to the riffing which forces the faster hand of the drumming, though you will get some instances of doom such as on “Eternal Oaths of Chaos” which you will come to find is a decent balance occurring within the record. Good to see the aggression is challenged by eerie parts throughout Moonless Night Sacraments, “The Primordial One” executes this to a T. That section just around the 2:50 mark creeps in the barbaric atmosphere and immediately casts a shadow of evil and ominousness over the track just after exiting a short and frantic guitar solo, then it's back to firing all cylinders. Lots of props to the guitar licks on here, an air of urgency is summoned and remains flowering; just listen to “The Ancient Serpent”, whoever is the guitarist deserves a standing ovation, every track is crammed with some pretty impressive string-work. That combined with the drumming that keeps things fairly traditional raises the mood for constant headbanging. The tone and way some of the leads are constructed and played bring to mind the likes of Temple Nightside especially on the track “God’s Servant Laceration”. The primary lead sounds like something I've heard on Recondemnation not too long released on Iron Bonehead Records. 

The latter portion of Moonless Midnight Sacraments is just as strong as the former, “Enochian Keys” and “Moloch’s Domain” go head to head for best track on the B-side, yes more bestial riffing, smiting vocals, ruthless drumming and creepy mid-90s style keyboards. Moonless Night Sacraments by Deathwomb is an impressive record particularly when considering so many bands populating the genre. This holds a bar above anything bestial I’ve heard that has been published in 2019. At first, I thought this was from Canada but no, these are a Spanish sect, dedicated to escorting evil entities into the hemisphere. This is some great music, note the term “music”. Many times, you hear the bestial flesh clawing metal that's Hellraiser crazy, that drowns out what could be some good musical opportunities, but on Moonless Night Sacraments Deathwomb make good use of their talents and highlights just how much of a force they are going to become within the underground.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10