I don’t know what it is with England/the U.K., but that little island nation just cranks out fantastic metal, plain and simple. From originators to imitators, the amount of quality and varied material is quite astonishing, and while I wouldn’t put London’s Lvcifyre in the hallowed halls of British metaldom just yet, I would recommend keeping an ever so vigilant eye on the death metal warriors three. Having just released their new EP, Sacrament, their follow-up to 2014’s Svn Eater, once again on Dark Descent Records, the band sounds as hungry as ever and are surely eager to (re)make a name for theirselves  after a five year absence. In fact, I was actually surprised to see that we are only getting an EP release from the group as opposed to a new full-length, but in the long run, who am I to question their output..(but I want a full-length next time guys). Seriously though, the EP route may have been an excellent idea, as Lvcifyre‘s brand of cavernous, suffocating, earthen, ooey-gooey, sometimes blackened, death metal can be a taxing venture when taken in an entire full-length listening session.

If you’ve never yet experienced Lvcifyre‘s temptations then you’re in luck, as Sacrament is just as perfect of a starting point for one’s introduction to the band as is previous release Svn Eater. I’ll be honest with you, Lvcifyre isn’t for the mama’s boy death metal fans. If the most extreme you like to go is Kataklysm and Obituary, or bands of similar ilk, then Lvcy probably isn’t for you; but if Blood Incantation covering Lykathea Aflame (too obscure of a reference? How about Nile covering Akercocke) sounds like a divine proposition, then by all means, dig, feverishly if you will, into the pleasures of Lvcifyre.

“The Greater Curse” gets the ball rolling on Sacrament in fine form, its deep bellowing and oppressive death metal culls with a predilectory black metal aesthetic running amongst and even parallel to the material and sets up the EP as a whole quite nicely. Thick and tight, with nary a proper hook in sight (though that brief Morbid Angel like riffage at the 6:25 mark sure is bliss and close to being out and out catchy), just blasting, droning, grimey death that vibes with the aplomb of labelmates Corpsessed and Spectral Voice. Discordant and atonal, yet only in aural illusion and not actually either of those at all in reality.

Eerie off-kilter beginning of wind effects, bass, and some gnarly spoken death word/whispers start out “Death’s Head on a Crown”. The track has a blackish nature about it, with everything really coming in and opening up at the 1:18 mark with an all out dirty death metal assault. Moaning guitar lines, huge and heavy riffing and an unrelenting drum performance combine with murky yet clear roars too accompany the earthy death dirge in a city leveling display of destruction. Driving in their untraditional nature, the song is dense and full of intricacies hiding all throughout and within the track. “Shadowy Wing” chimes in with being not only the shortest track on this five song affair, clocking in at a mere minute and twenty-nine seconds, but also comes in as the EP’s most bizzarre offering. Blasting and dismal death metal in a stop-gap structure with droning and demented spoken death extremity mixed within said gaps. Short yet brutal, and honestly, epic and climactic, as well as unnerving and agitated.

Title track and personal favorite, “Sacrament” shares a lot in nature and structure with “Shadowy Wing” but with an additional running time of four and a half minutes, there is obviously a lot more meat on the bone to chew on. The track is a controlled chaos that pierces with a dank pummeling of death that obliterates as well as it creates. A serpentine path that staggers just as much as it slithers. Sometimes it seems as if every member is playing a different song at the same time, but it works in its askewed and queer approach. Then bam! You’re hit with neck swirling greatness at the 2:52 that just slays in a misanthropic and a Miskatonic way, if you know what I mean. Props to vocalist/guitarist, T. Kaos, as the man hits the gamut of vocal assortedness. From growls, screams, gurgles, whispers, chants, spoken word, buried murmurs, groans, moans, and even the bleeps, sweeps, and the creeps, the man covers it all, helping meld a track full of awesomeness, as well as dismalness.

Lvcifyre chooses to close out Sacrament with “Morderca”, a cover from the not so well known Polish thrash act, Kat. The track is actually a great fit for the band. It’s dirty and fast paced thrash reminiscent of old Sodom and the likes. Hell, they even pull off the Polish lyrics. Not too shabby, not too shabby at all. It’s good and fun and not really much else honestly. I can definitely see Kat as being one of many of Lvcy‘s influences, so the cover ends up working well and making a lot of sense, and at the very least, it caused me to check out a band I was never familiar with, so thats fucking cool. When it’s all said and done I don’t have any real founded fault with any of Sacrament. While it doesn’t make quite the impact that their last full-length made, it is a more than solid return from the band and it admirably acheives what I assume is the initial point of an EP release; to keep yourself in the listeners’s light, and to build anticipation for what lies ahead. I think in that respect, Sacrament is a hands down winner.

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