Review by Alex on August 5, 2018.

Spawned is a new bestial black/death metal frontier by the name of The Black Sorcery, whom hail from Canada. Their 2018 debut ...And the Beast Spake Death from Above sees the band perform their first acts of desecration on consecrated soil. 

This is just straight up blistering "war metal" that for some reason has a lot of hazy pig squeals you would usually hear on slam records. There is also a tad bit of Archgoat influences to be heard on here. For instance on the opening track “Ancient Dialects of Wind” and “Incursion” draw comparisons to early Archgoat material the likes of Angelcunt (Tales of Desecration) and Whore of Bethlehem in the production and instrumentation areas. There are also 3 diverse vocal patterns appearing on each song, pig squeals (as mentioned earlier), sharp black metal shrieks and thick growls. ...And the Beast Spake Death from Above is just under 30 minutes long but has enough to render it a bestial piece. Some songs have a more traditional “war metal” structure whilst others like the final track “Helgeist” have a very 2nd wave black metal/brutal death metal arrangement. The few solos on the album are timely and matches the drum work which is fairly straightforward. All said, ...And the Beast Spake Death from Above is worth your time if you still can't resist the bestiality coming out of Canada. Apart from the inclusion of slam vocals and the experimental sounding “Helgeist” there is nothing new happening on ...And the Beast Spake Death from Above, so expect unfiltered “war metal” the traditional way. I'm interested in what else is to come from such an act and Krucyator Productions.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Review by Adam M on February 11, 2012.

This album is one that has a very accessible flavour and lightened up by many keyboards and similar instruments. It moves along at a brisk pace that is similar to Children Of Bodom, for example. Throughout the length of the release, there is a great deal of excitement shown by the band, but the music is fairly mundane sounding to some extent, only catching your interest from time to time.

There isn’t anything particularly wrong with the musical performances, but they just don’t stick out in any manner whatsoever. Like Children Of Bodom, the music here is adequate and reasonably well structured, but not particularly interesting on the whole. It leads to a digestible, but forgettable listen overall. Similarly, the vocals are of the rough, high-pitched style that is similar to Children Of Bodom. They fit the music nicely, but aren’t anything noteworthy either. The best element of this album is probably the classical feel that it has, which does give it a slightly original feel, though it’s still quit derivate overall. The melodies are audible, but not really poignant either. This sense of melody is demonstrated on the early track 'Among The Stars.

Again, there’s nothing terrible with this release, but also nothing that makes a big impression either. "Corona Borealis" is a slightly below average album overall.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 6
Atmosphere: 6.5
Production: 7
Originality: 5.5
Overall: 6.5

Rating: 6.3 out of 10