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...Of The Occult

Brazil Country of Origin: Brazil

...Of The Occult
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Buy on: Bandcamp
Type: Full-Length
Release Date: November 15th, 2024
Label: Independent
Genre: Black
1. Agouro
2. Inhuman Entities
3. Your Dead Messiah Will Never Return
4. Spectrum Of Catacomb
5. The Key Of The Bottomless Pit
6. Scarlet Whore
7. Flesh Devotion
8. Perpetual Night
9. Venomous Winds Of Pazuzu


Review by Felix on January 22, 2025.

It's always a fine thing when artwork and title of an album go hand in hand. ...Of The Occult fulfils this requirement. Its expressive cover introduces the interested maniac very well and the short ambient piece "Agouro" with its clandestine whispering does the same. One thing swiftly becomes clear: the first full-length of Vermis Mortem is not a quick fix. The Brazilians followed a clear vision and they were able to bring their concept into reality. To be honest, everything else would have been a disappointment after more than ten years of activities. Nevertheless, other bands have painfully proven to us that we cannot take it for granted.

But what about the music of the quartet itself (and no, this is no act of whataboutism, we just come closer to the core of the release)? The blackened thrash approach of the band flirts with albums like "Profound Evil Presence" from Power from Hell sometimes, but there are also parts which remind me of Sepultura's masterpiece "Schizophrenia". But regardless of the musical influences, I am listening to a raw yet not chaotic melange of relatively simply arranged songs. They do not drown in mediocre mid-tempo, but the band also does not look out for new speed records. From time to time they put the focus on atmospheric sounds, for example at the beginning of "The Key Of The Bottomless Pit". Anyway, the parts in which the band lets steam off are those that characterise the full-length. This meets my taste pretty precisely, and there is another thing which gives me pleasant feeling. Every note of the album hammers the authenticity of the band into our heads. Either you love this slightly morbid, quite sinister and non-commercial sound or you play something different.

I already mentioned "The Key Of The Bottomless Pit", one of the highlights of the album. It is maybe the most varied song of the debut and its different sections blend seamlessly with each other. "Scarlet Whore", another piece with a pretty atmospheric intro, turns into the next massive high quality attack. It is one of the tracks that reveal the talent of the band to deal with non-complex yet hard hitting riffs and lines. This is something I like very much and from my point of view, Vermis Mortem only fail in "Spectrum Of Catacomb" in this respect. Moreover, they have the competence to give their songs a certain depth. "Perpetual Night" is more than just a rapid, linear blackened thrasher. It holds profound guitar lines and ominous, quasi-religious background vocals. Both elements add value to this track.

Before I come to the end, let me say something about the production. ...Of The Occult can rely on its dense, vigorous mix. It combines transparency with a certain dose of filth. Nobody needs to fear an overly clean result, but technical devastation is also not the be-all and end-all for the guys. The commanding vocals have enough room, the guitars provide a good amount of pressure. In conclusion, ...Of The Occult does not revolutionize the bastard genre of black thrash metal, but firstly we do not need any revolution when it comes to black thrash and secondly, it is definitely worth listening. I hope that some physical copies of the album exist, because "digital" can go to hell – and I hope that the guys do not need another decade for the next full-length.

Rating: 8.2 out of 10

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