Unveiling new limbs yanked from the rotted out necro-spherical abyss of their bloody flowing mind(s) with remarkable turnaround Barcelona, Spain-based death/doom metal quintet SANCTUARIUM return with a heavier, deeper doom-stoked portal into the realm of the dead on this slow burning sophomore full-length album. Casting its blanket woven from bones and discolored sinew across the chasmic echo chamber of ‘old school’ death metal muse ‘Melted and Decomposed‘ is not only remarkable for the mean-assed sound and fury applied to its corpselike pallor herein but also for its serious treatment of doom metal riffcraft, a feat conscious of the old ways where rhythms arrive in knots and waves rather than dully slow, thoughtless sonic bludgeoning. Still raw and unadulterated after having struck out into the desolate planes of reality, this second statement reinforces the horrified personae building within their mutant handiwork as these long and torturous pieces roar through dreadful, terror-stricken plod.

From the engineering, performances, songcraft and even the artwork for each release Catalonian musician/artist Necrohelm figured it all out on his own terms at some point by 2019, of course working with others on a doom metal project before he began to generate various extreme metal projects starting with a black metal project (Calderum) and by 2021 forming Trollcave and Sanctuarium. By 2022 he’d had three atmospheric extreme doom metal groups (incl. funeral doom band Exhumation) and the difference between each was its focus on different niches and different line-ups as each developed. Well, there are tons of folks shitting out music as “content” these days, why is any of this worth mentioning? From my point of view everything this fellowe has done in the death metal sector has been solid ‘old school’ inspired work, honest do-it-yourself shit that doesn’t flatly ape riffs from the old guard. When Sanctuarium released their first LP (‘Into the Mephitic Abyss‘, 2023) I was stoked on its ‘new old school’ take on atmospheric death/doom that’d cited Autopsy, Disembowelment, Gorement as points of interest. With guttural vocals buried in the distance and a knack for keeping it kicking-through on each of its extended ~8-9 minute songs there’d been no surprise folks paid attention to the crypt-dank riffs on display and saw potential for more.

A year later and they’ve played some shows, added a rhythm section and of course Necrohelm has started four new bands (Cauterized Torso, Crucification, Osmazome, Stygian Storm) each of which has either released a demo or an LP this year. So, is there any hope for ‘Melted and Decomposed’ being any good? Yeah I mean the labels involved have never steered me wrong and if we look at this guys track record album number two will likely refine rather that change its style, there’ll be no major paradigm shift if I had to wager. In fact, yes, Sanctuarium follows along the path set crafting classic ‘old school’ death metal with a pure underground touch but I think most will be convinced that this second album is even better than the first in terms of bringing -real- doom metal riffs into a pure death metal sound.

Opener “Abhorrent Excruciation in Reprisal” eventually slows in its final third and begins to touch upon an earliest Cathedral style of riff, the step beyond ‘Lost Paradise‘ you’ll find on that bands first demo and EP, which lands close to early funeral death/doom but remains directly rooted in classic death metal’s sphere of influence upon the early 90’s. This is not only a keen enough moment, reprised with harmonizing guitar layers ~5:45 minutes in, but just one of several standout events on that first song. This is not an isolated incident either as we find a few slower dirging points on “Phlegmatic Convulsions” a bit further down the road, starting around ~2:15 minutes in and eventually inserting some harrowing screams in the distance (~7:14 minute mark) as the writhe of the song carries on. I am not sure if they’ve used the same vocalist as on ‘Into the Mephitic Abyss‘ though the general range is reprised here with a reserved presence which holds back to some degree along the way. This shouldn’t bother folks attuned to atmospheric death metal though some of the immediacy and trotting bounce of the first album is traded for more severe, slow-burning movements. Fans of more recent Ataraxy and Krypts albums should appreciate this (admittedly nuanced) change most.

Though there are a few moments on “Exultant Dredge of Nameless Tombs” which interrupts the atmospheric drift of this album’s doom-oriented riffcraft out of the blue most of Sanctuarium‘s guitar work here flows naturally between more immediate ‘old school’ death metal influenced nodes and its slower death/doom passages by way of easily assessed transitions. This clearer telegraphing from the guitarists doesn’t always demand much processing from the listener’s ear, at least in terms of sheer riff count or odd-timed motions, but it breaks free of interruptive riff salad. The render offers a still-cavernous yet otherwise realistic and strongly resonant representation of performance nonetheless. A few of the songs leave their rough edges on for effect with an abrupt stop closing out at least one song and some strange clipping on another but these may just be artifacts of compression and distribution rather than raw hiccups from an unbothered hand. This shapes the listening experience almost in the direction of 90’s demo tape level adoration for obscure, imperfect craft from an era more concerned with sounding mean as Hell rather than stoic, ‘gothic’ or dramatic in any sense and I think most underground and/or ‘old school’ attuned ears will understand that distinction.

On a cursory spin through ‘Melted and Decomposed‘ convinced me that Sanctuarium weren’t a fluke of do-it-yourself engineering and a love of old, dead things though it’d take a couple more rides through to gather enough evidence for this sophomore full-length having improved on most every level. While their treatment of death/doom metal remains consistent in presentation and style my appreciation for this album centers its focus right where it should, the riffs, and in this sense the character of the band feels all the more tuned into its own tunnel vision of slow-motion aggression. Otherwise the effect of said riffs will prove itself slow-and-steadily as a serious contender and an admirable result. If you lean toward the morbid, cryptic and esoteric spectrum of death/doom metal this record surely delivers us the sensation of the old ways without resorting to any dry cannibalism along the way. A very high recommendation.

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