Review by Adam M on April 16, 2026.

This is another heavy album in the band’s discography that sits nicely alongside albums like Demigod and Evangelion.  It is grimy and has a Morbid Angel type nature that makes it compelling.  The tunes are very well produced and punchy and this makes the album stand out in an aggressive manner.  It is still not as consistent as the other mentioned albums, but still very good.

The musicianship is solid with strong guitar playing and a vocal performance that is quite powerful.  There is a constant need to be punishing and this is augmented by a reasonable production job.  The entire album is perhaps some of the band’s most consistent work musically and is very poignant and impactful.  The instruments are strong and fit nicely together.

The flaw with the album is that it isn’t better than other albums like Evangelion and Demigod and one will be drawn to those albums more because they are more innovative and interesting.  This is still very good stuff and one of the better death metal albums you’ll hear.  Songs like “As Above, So Below” are very memorable.

This is all in all a strong album that fits in nicely into the band’s discography and is very addictive in its own right.  It is not better than a couple of their other albums, but still very strong and one you shall come back to time and time again.  It is powerful and one of the better death metal releases one will ever happen to listen to.

Rating: 7.3 out of 10

Review by Michael on December 28, 2002.

This album is angry. This album is brutal. This album is aggressive. "Zos Kia Cultus" is the album to put smiles on all the metal tough death fans across the globe this Christmas (as apt as religious sentiment can be when dealing with a band famed for song titles such as 'Antichristian Phenomenon' and 'Christians to the Lions') Behemoth with the release of this album have now most definitely claimed their place as one of the most powerful, brutal and technical death bands in the scene at the moment.

To the non-discerning death fan, this album is simply fast and heavy. "Zos Kia Cultus" from start to finish is a relentless assault on the senses. Behemoth seem to have a never ending array of crushing guitar riffs, driving drum beats and aggression filled vocals. With "Zos Kia Cultus", Behemoth have definitely raised the bar as to what should be the standard in the genre. The most interesting part to the evolution of this band is the subtlety in which they have achieved the change. On first listen the album is right on track with previous releases, but upon listening a little harder and paying a little more attention you can see that Behemoth have matured very nicely since Thelema.6. Strangely melody has become a force in their music. I’m not talking about melody like In Flames but really hard infections and fast melody lines sitting in and alongside crushing riffs to add a smooth element that was not present before and is a very nice progression in style indeed.

Production wise "Zos Kia Cultus" is also far superior to not only past recordings, but many of the other bands who share the genre. The drums are massive and very clear considering the speed at which they are being played. That seems to be a common floor in death recordings is the lack of care taken to mix the drums and you end up with the classic wall of noise that makes no sense to anyone. The guitars are very big too, a lot more bottom end has been put into them creating an altogether larger sound and the vocals have also been perfected. If anything I’d say they are sitting too high in the mix and are quite overpowering at times, which takes away from the very impressive musicianship in the background.

Bottom Line: This is a hard, fast, heavy and very technical death metal album indeed. Behemoth while not covering new ground with this CD, have produced a very strong and powerful recording that will sit well with death metal fans everywhere.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 8.5
Production: 9
Originality: 7
Overall: 9

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Review by Jack on November 16, 2004.

The one-record-a-year band, Runemagick, return again in 2004 with another funeral doom record that may be their most accomplished record to date.

A brief listen of On Funeral Wings might only sound marginally better than its predecessors. One can immediately notice a newfound sense of depth in each track, effectively pulling in the listener more than past records. However, it's on the fifth, sixth and seventh listens that On Funeral Wings really comes of age, and demonstrates that their hard work (releasing something every year since 1997) has paid off.

Runemagick operate at three speeds: slow, very slow, and torturously slow. If you're looking for a quick fix, (of well... anything) then Runemagick might be the worst band for you to stumble upon. But if you're looking for something that will have you still interested after the 50th listen, then Runemagick is your band. On Funeral Wings succeeds because of its ability to suck listeners in with tracks that build up with each minute of their often lengthy duration.

Runemagick are still as consistent as ever in regards to their interpretation of funeral doom, but as with most consistent bands evolution will always be a problem. They're still the same act as they were many years ago. This can be problematic for those who enjoy seeing their favorite acts to constantly push the envelope. However, for some bands like Runemagick, that's not a pursuit they find to be worthwhile. If it's not broke, why fix it?

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 8
Atmosphere: 9
Production: 7
Originality: 6
Overall: 8

Rating: 7.6 out of 10