Whoa! Reykjavik Iceland’s Cult of Lilith has made quite the debut with their nearly twenty minute Arkanum EP.  I honestly did not know what to expect from this group as I was expecting something completely different when I saw the cover artwork.  I was thinking that this was going to be more of a symphonic black metal project or maybe some crossover thrash band.  Nope.  Cult of Lilith plays a very mechanically technical and groovy style of technical death metal with a strong sense of harmony and melody. I am quite impressed with how tight this is for a group that has been together less than a year.

From the opening chop picking of “Abaddon” Cult of Lilith make it very clear that you are going to get a lot of riffs in twenty minutes.  There are more riffs than guitar solos on this but when there are guitar solos they are well done and well played. Stylistically there is a lot going on with Cult of Lilith and to me they remind me of groups like Soreption, Spawn of Possession and maybe even Martyr.

The vocal work on this is refreshing in that there is actual annunciation and not just toad throats and pig squeals.  I really like the way Cult of Lilith mix in melodic elements into technical death metal.   The drumming on Arkanum is quite tight and not just blasting throughout the whole song and the fact it is a session drummer makes the tightness of this EP even more impressive.

“Night Hag” is to me the other stand out track on this EP.  This tune almost sounds like a mix of The Sound of Perseverance Era Death in the way the song fades in with an odd time feel but then goes off in many different tangents of groove and scale flurries.  For me, Cult of Lilith are a very entertaining listen and could see these guys being picked up by a variety of underground death metal labels.  If you are looking for something within the genre that is well=played, well-produced and tactful Cult of Lilith are definitely worth checking out. I can’t wait to hear a full length from these guys!

[Visit the band's website]

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