A five-dimensional spawn of impossible to divine cryptae sprout before us, each sporting bone white lidless eyes as portals to ancient Thracian mystery cults, disturbing Orphic superstitions, Lovecraftian tales of possession and all manner of unthinkable supernatural horrors within. Arcane cults and ghoulish spirit magickry help to characterize this well-backed professional grade demo tape from this Québécois death metal troupe who arrive as an anonymous disturbance here early in the year. Rooted in the ‘old school’ per their garage-bound, eternally stinking and bounding malevolent presence Décryptal describe themselves as “adipose death metal”, a classic crypt bound feeling yet inarguably nowadays vision of death metal which bears its own bizarre geometric inversion. As a demonstration designed as a salable product rather than a shop for representation ‘Sabazios Culte‘ arrives ready for its first strike a complete package, bearing an intimate yet filth-stricken recording and a high standard of performance that quickly suggests an all-around experienced crew behind their gut-spearing munitions.

For a band so thoroughly detailing wild, colorful visions of the worshippers of ancient frighteners, minds tainted by ghastly sickness and withering consciousness these fellowes (who apparently include at least one Sedimentum alumni in their ranks) craft a somewhat straight forward set of death metal pieces which amount to a heavily atmospheric, loosely technical yet brutal form of ‘new old school’ death metal. The five songs here are nonetheless complete in each thought, generate a unique vibe and feel substantial in the sense that all placement is pro and includes wailing leads. This means a modest split between modern visions of mid-paced nowadays feeling death-hop beats (“Pendu par Phobethor”) and hairier, savagely corrupted classicist stuff with a crooked spine driving its best riffs.

The most electrified moment here up front is “Virulence Ectoplasmique” for its ragged faster-paced cut and the diving board readied leads that kick up to signal peak intensity. The ringing-out riffs near the end of the song recall the post-2011 steps Execration took into their own but the record as a whole has a shade of Incantation-esque hurl to it which occasionally recalled ‘Engulfed in Desolation‘-era Cruciamentum as much as it did the earlier Finndeath surged thrash-and-groove of Tomb Mold. This is showcased more clearly in the verse riffs of “Les Barques Volantes de Sarnath” with an almost (earlier) Drawn and Quartered-esque bludgeon giving this piece an uncanny lift midway through. Otherwise I’d found “Flétrissementz” was the song to stop me in my tracks most often, though each of the previously mentioned songs carried rhythmic motions that’d felt angularly struck this piece is especially tied up in its atmospheric grinding dissonance, a machine gun firing hot while getting splattered with gore. In practical terms some of their bigger grooves, more technical rhythms and greater overall furor kicks up here in the best way. The song does admittedly just kind of fade out in the midst of its phrase but either way I’d hope this is a representative piece of their sound as it was the one to sell me on the full listen in perpetuity.

From my point of view each of these songs could use another solo or three along the way, at least one needs a more fleshed endpoint, and the double bass drumming on the recording is buried to the point of being limited to my subconscious but it all works brilliantly as a demonstration of might, a garage-rattling showcase for an impressive and menacing death metal band who are already striking a rad balance between surreal, warped rhythms and inspired run-on grooves. The creeping, twisted and blustering whole of ‘Sabazios Culte‘ is a brief run but one which quickly convinced me they’re onto something, there is a grotesque path forward worth pursuing here. A moderately high recommendation.

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