German Melodic death metal band Sacrificium, formed in 1993, are out with their magnum opus “Oblivion” after a 10 year long wait. The album is being released under the Record Label of Nordic Mission on the 10th March 2023. The release celebrates the band’s 30th anniversary. The band have released three albums so far Cold Black Piece of Flesh (2002), Escaping the Stupor (2005) & Prey for Your Gods (2013) and has its roots in a band called Hardway, formed by Sebastian Wagner and Oliver Tesch. In 1991, the session drummer Markus Hauth took the direction more towards a hard rock sound. In 1992, Hardway performed at the reputive Steiger 14 club in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
The band name was changed to Corpus Christi in 1993 and they began playing thrash metal. The style developed to death metal, and in 1994, after recording a demo, the name was changed to Sacrificium. After a few line up changes in 1996, Sacrificium recorded its second demo and in 1998 another demo titled Mortal Fear was released. Although the demos were well-received, the vocalist Roman Wagner left Sacrificium in 2000. The band played concerts with bands such as Extol, Dismember, Unleashed, The Black Dahlia Murder or My Darkest Hate.
The album opens with melodic guitar taps on “Annihilated” as it takes on full power with a chunky guitar riff that’s accentuated with blast beats, guttural & screeching vocals duelling and blitzing guitar solo that’s sure to captivate your attention. Next up things get heavy with “Martyrium”, the two guitarists complement the riffs, add blast beats with the guttural growls, launches the song into a frenzy. The guitar riffs panning left and right gives the impression of two guitarists preparing you for a mad rush which is going to give tremendous results live, and an added neck sprain. This has to be my favourite song of the album.
“From Above” sets off with an electronic ambient soundscape that is paired well with aggressive guitar chugs and maddening blast beats. The song experiments and oscillates with varying tempo, be it for a crafty guitar solo that pieces the song or the groovy interludes that keeps the song interesting. “Born Guilty” pounces off steadily with sustained chords riveting throughout the course of the song. A melody sits at the interlude which is followed by odd time signature riffs that add a groove and the guitar shredding over rumbling bass takes the song to its final state. “Where All Prayers Fail” is an instrumental song, which gets the acoustic guitars out and gives the audience a breather on an otherwise heavy record. The guitar solo that follows launches the song to a different territory and brings the song to its start.
“Eye For an Eye” is what you would expect of it, a frenzy that runs at breakneck pace. Be it for the blast beats or rugged guitars that sits on them, or the guttural racking off the vocals that adds flair and aggression to the song’s overall delivery. The song took me to the days when I would revere Slayer (that’s not changed, by the way). The guitars flirt with an electronic ambient as “Decadence Reigns” starts, but takes no time to thrash the life out of it. The song is heavy on blast beats and guitar shreds that brings forth agility in the songs’ delivery. A blazing guitar solo picks on and off on the tempo and thrusts forward with a solid groove that’s sure to create a riot.
“Cohorts Of Oblivion” like its predecessor is heavy, the melody that’s brought forward in the song-writing adds a lot of colour to the contours of the song. The song is strong with an underlying groove that gives enough room for the guitarists to duel the solos out giving quite an ecstatic outlook to the song. “Death from Within” starts off on acoustics but shortly delves into heavy rhythms full of groove. The song branches off to many sections and provides the platform for the band to show their technical prowess, be it for the rip roaring vocals, melodic riffs, alternate and sweep guitar picking. The album culminates with “Written In My Scars” which is a powerhouse of melody and has rock solid song arrangements. The blast beats, screeching vocal deliveries and guitar riffing is going on and strong. Love it the way the song ends on acoustics bringing forth the calm that comes post a massive storm.
Production – This album is produced well, although I did feel the album being deficient on Bass productions, but there were times where it was pumped up. I guess the song structures called out for some of that.
Conclusion – The song writing is complex, no stones left unturned with experimenting different tempos and ambient styles. This definitely is a worthy comeback, and I’m hoping it will create waves when they release this worldwide. This album definitely demands multiple repeats and is going to be with you for a long time. What an amazing start to the year! Can’t wait to see them live.!
Rating: 9.5/10
Written by: Ankit Sood
Line up :
Claudio Enzler – vocals
Wolfgang Nillies – guitars
Frederik “Fred” Berger – guitars
Ulrike Uhlmann – bass
Thorsten Brandt – drums
Track Listing:
- Annihilated
- Martyrium
- From Above
- Born Guilty
- Where All Prayers Fail
- Eye For an Eye
- Decadence Reigns
- Cohorts Of Oblivion
- Death from Within
- Written In My Scars
Releasedate: March 10th. 2023
Record Label: Nordic Mission Productions
Pre-order at Nordic Mission
Social Media: Facebook
Lyric video for ‘Martyrium’
Lyric video for ‘Eye for an Eye’
