Review by Vladimir on August 11, 2024.

Some time ago, I had the great pleasure of checking out the latest single of the German black/death/thrash metal band Warlust, which was teasing their third full-length album Sol Invictus In Umbrae Satanae that is due to be released on September 27th, 2024 via Dying Victims Productions. The single left a very positive impression on me and it also made me quite curious to hear the rest of the album, especially since it promised some top-tier black metal instrumental work with a lot of superb melodies and tight riffing, and what did we get in the end? Stay tuned to find out… 

As the 'Serpent Crown' is placed upon the ruler, the enraged outburst of Warlust sets the strong foundation of the album, as everything goes up in flames with the energetic blackened death metal performance that means serious business. When I first heard the single 'Between Apeiron & Plague', I immediately felt a strong presence in their music, and it can be easily said that it rules with each riff and melody, which is further elevated by harsh guttural vocals and thrash metal drumming with plenty of blast beats and double-bass. It’s evident from the very get-go that the black metal instrumentation on this album rightfully shines in its full glory, possibly due to the incredibly solid riff work and the epic tremolo-picking melodies, but I think it’s mostly due to the band’s performance remaining constantly tight, fueled with hatred and burning with blood, fire, and death, never slowing down or becoming less interesting the further it progresses. Although it becomes more or less familiar during the second half once you get used to Warlust’s approach which they incorporated into this album, you will still feel the intensity and the energy of every song, because it’s just so difficult to not let these amazing riffs get under your skin, especially on such phenomenal examples like 'Legio! Aeterna! Victrix!' and 'Black Souls'. I can guarantee that this album will surely possess you with its atmosphere that flows throughout every track, but once you reach the heavy-as-hell headbanging action, of which there is plenty, then you have definitely sold your soul to Satan and embraced devastation. The progression of this album feels like a journey through the dark that leads you somewhere far beyond, and you don’t even realize that you’ve embarked on an epic adventure full of chaos and death until you reach the finale of 'Black Souls', as the acoustic guitar outro rolls the credits to this story and puts this chapter to a strong closure. 

Their songwriting provides a variety of ideas that wonderfully combine some thrash and heavy metal with blackened death metal, showcasing tons of dynamics from the numerous tempo changes to the incredible riffs. It’s always great to hear black and death metal bands taking on a rich and creative approach to their songwriting, especially if it truly feels like it takes you to another place that exists inside your mind, nicely playing with your imagination whereas you the listener constantly absorbs the majesty of the music. What Warlust does on the entirety of Sol Invictus In Umbrae Satanae is exactly what a lot of contemporary extreme metal artists are missing, and that is consistency, determination, creativity, and a focused direction, because their output here showcases that the band’s work remains just as strong as it was from the beginning of the album. Despite there being a strong sense of familiarity in their songwriting, you never feel like it’s a copy-pasted template from start to finish, because every following song throws in something different than the previous one, thus successfully keeping you on edge, sweating with anticipation and always wondering what comes next. The single 'Between Apeiron & Plague' was a very good teaser for the album that nicely showcased the upcoming devastation, but for me personally it is nowhere near as good as the rest of the album which takes everything to the next level and continues to do so until the very end. Another highlight for me about this album is the production, because of its very top-notch quality that provides a great balance between a crystal clear and a razor-sharp sound, and it’s by no means too fancy or too clean for black metal. 

I have to say that I was seriously blown away when I heard Sol Invictus In Umbrae Satanae in its entirety, because Warlust sure as hell managed to stand and deliver with their new album. There's so much great stuff on here that many will praise and enjoy for their excellent execution and overall badass energy that you just can’t get enough of. The new Warlust album has a very strong punch to it and I highly recommend that you check it out when it’s officially released. 

Rating: 9out of 10

Review by Carl on June 23, 2021.

What is there still to be said about Germany's Warhammer that has not yet been stated long before? I always appreciated them for their unwavering old school approach, no matter of the ridicule that their truly hardcore dedication to Hellhammer and their music may have incited from some parts of the metal underground. Warhammer simply did their thing and told the rest to fuck off.

I don't think I have to explain the Warhammer sound to anyone who might be reading this. They loved Hellhammer. A lot. Perhaps even to the point of sexual arousal, I sometimes think. The raw sound, the jagged riffing, the gruff throaty vocals, the sometimes-sloppy execution, the aesthetics on their releases, it all has the name Hellhammer emanating from every orifice. The band admitted freely that that was their only goal, and they did their utmost best to copy their biggest inspiration, and in that they succeeded.

Much like their biggest inspiration, Warhammer serves up a good balance between primitive faster material and crushing doom metal numbers, managing to inject a certain amount of variation into their somewhat one-sided sound. If you hear them more often, you can actually hear some other influences seeping through all the worship/plagiarism. In the slow doomed out tracks they sometimes have me thinking of acts such as Saint Vitus and Winter. In the case of the latter perhaps not surprising, because Winter also had a sizeable Celtic Frost/Hellhammer edge to their material, but the guitar tone and sluggish tempo definitely give me this early Saint Vitus vibe. In their more up-tempo tracks, I sometimes hear some Discharge bubbling up to the surface, another act that dealt in stripped down acidic fury, comparable in attitude to Hellhammer, perhaps. A nice touch in between their own material on offer here, is the inclusion of a cover of the Slaughter classic 'Tales Of The Macabre', a band I once heard being described as a cross between early Slayer and, you guessed it, Hellhammer. As you have probably figured out by now, Warhammer worked around a concept, and they stuck to it doggedly.

As this is a compilation of demos and other recordings, the sound quality differs here and there, but for a collection of old material the sound quality never deteriorates into noisy mush. Sure, it sounds raw and unpolished, but come on, there is no way to imagine Warhammer with a production like that of a band like Suicide Silence or other rubbish like that, right? This is pure underground, old school, no frills death/black/doom metal, so what is there not to like about these guys? Original they ain't by a long shot, but boy, is this awesome!

This is an interesting compilation, but only for the Warhammer enthusiast, even if it was just for the Slaughter cover. To those just starting to explore the band, I'd say to start with their albums in chronological order. Or you could just go back further and just start with Hellhammer's "Apocalyptic Raids", of course.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Carl on June 23, 2021.

What is there still to be said about Germany's Warhammer that has not yet been stated long before? I always appreciated them for their unwavering old school approach, no matter of the ridicule that their truly hardcore dedication to Hellhammer and their music may have incited from some parts of the metal underground. Warhammer simply did their thing and told the rest to fuck off.

I don't think I have to explain the Warhammer sound to anyone who might be reading this. They loved Hellhammer. A lot. Perhaps even to the point of sexual arousal, I sometimes think. The raw sound, the jagged riffing, the gruff throaty vocals, the sometimes-sloppy execution, the aesthetics on their releases, it all has the name Hellhammer emanating from every orifice. The band admitted freely that that was their only goal, and they did their utmost best to copy their biggest inspiration, and in that they succeeded.

Much like their biggest inspiration, Warhammer serves up a good balance between primitive faster material and crushing doom metal numbers, managing to inject a certain amount of variation into their somewhat one-sided sound. If you hear them more often, you can actually hear some other influences seeping through all the worship/plagiarism. In the slow doomed out tracks they sometimes have me thinking of acts such as Saint Vitus and Winter. In the case of the latter perhaps not surprising, because Winter also had a sizeable Celtic Frost/Hellhammer edge to their material, but the guitar tone and sluggish tempo definitely give me this early Saint Vitus vibe. In their more up-tempo tracks, I sometimes hear some Discharge bubbling up to the surface, another act that dealt in stripped down acidic fury, comparable in attitude to Hellhammer, perhaps. A nice touch in between their own material on offer here, is the inclusion of a cover of the Slaughter classic 'Tales Of The Macabre', a band I once heard being described as a cross between early Slayer and, you guessed it, Hellhammer. As you have probably figured out by now, Warhammer worked around a concept, and they stuck to it doggedly.

As this is a compilation of demos and other recordings, the sound quality differs here and there, but for a collection of old material the sound quality never deteriorates into noisy mush. Sure, it sounds raw and unpolished, but come on, there is no way to imagine Warhammer with a production like that of a band like Suicide Silence or other rubbish like that, right? This is pure underground, old school, no frills death/black/doom metal, so what is there not to like about these guys? Original they ain't by a long shot, but boy, is this awesome!

This is an interesting compilation, but only for the Warhammer enthusiast, even if it was just for the Slaughter cover. To those just starting to explore the band, I'd say to start with their albums in chronological order. Or you could just go back further and just start with Hellhammer's "Apocalyptic Raids", of course.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Maciek on March 24, 2013.

So, the wait is over. On 8th of April 2013 new masterpiece from Mexican Zombiefication is coming out. And it is great. They are masters of creating an atmosphere of something sinister coming, and the overall musical climate evolves around tension. I guess the main element of creating that feeling is the melody lines played throughout the album in many tracks.

In the beginning I thought "Wait a minute. Have I heard this melody line in the previous track?" And then I realize that it's just another perfect piece of the whole, the album which is musically intense, I almost feel like wheezing just because of listening to them. Most important elements of this intoxicating blend are guitars using at least four different effects, but very important part is played by amazing work of drums. I have to say, that without so many different rhythms played in the background, switches between bass-drum based beats and cacophony of all sizes of cymbals make this album very dynamic. When you try to imagine how hard work is put in the rhythmical section in this band...I'm wheezing again. You can hear some eastern influences to the melody lines, solos are very "heavy metal" which sometimes reminds me of good times of brilliant works by Michael Denner in Mercyful Fate, but the genre presented on this album is definitely leaning towards Death/Doom Metal, a bit of Samael with a vocalist really screaming with all the power in his lungs. Another thing to point out is that bass guitar has a great distortioned sound which again with those great melody lines makes me think of early Entombed, possibly my favourite "Clandestine". Or Edge Of Sanity. And the influences of Slayer can be heard here as well.

So to sum up if you add it all together, put some fresh air in those old annals of metal, you get Zombiefication's new album. Great piece of material with 'In The Gallery Of Laments' as my favourite.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 10
Atmosphere: 10
Production: 8
Originality: 9
Overall: 9

Rating: 9.2 out of 10