Distributed by the sparking plasma of unspoken entity all disciples are simultaneously endowed with the gift of foreign speech as the unholy spirit-granted utterances of Porto, Portugal-based blackened death metal quintet THE OMINOUS CIRCLE access the diabolic on this doubly intense sophomore full-length album. Rather than rewiring their entire modus ~eight years beyond their last statement ‘Cloven Tongues of Fire‘ builds upon that foundation directly, catering to doom and malice with fresh conviction, an overall refinement of ‘ready culling serpent’s speech. Through these acts they’ve done well to represent blackened death metal in a familiar but not-so typical voice, leaning into vexing corridors of gloom while still spewing lava from every orifice.

The Ominous Circle formed circa 2014 by way of folks best known for their time in death/grind crew Holocausto Canibal as well as death metal bands Dementia 13 and Legacy of Brutality though from what I recall they were originally introduced as shrouded, anonymous figures. Intending their own form of obscure occult death metal the band’s debut LP (‘Appalling Ascension‘, 2017) was unique in that it reflected interest in atmospheric or ritualistic abstractions rooted in popular United States death metal canon but presented with a sort of sludge metal apropos production value, somewhat along the lines of Altarage where one might find references to Portal or Dead Congregation next to riffcraft suitable for an atmospheric sludge band. Their use of slower, steadied pacing only reinforced this (re: “A Gray Outcast”, “Consecrating His Mark”) to the point of some notable sublimity on that first record, a step away from the frantic disso-core peaking en masse at the time. Nearly a decade later they’ve upheld most of those same traits for album number two.

Opener “Lowest Immanations” reprises the opening moments of ‘Appalling Ascension‘ er, sans the four minute intro that’d marred their debut with its howling step, via an almost Desecresy-esque shuddering groove which slowly walks into the inferno generated beyond. The Ominous Circle isn’t necessarily reborn in those moments but certainly refined in its layered treatment of downtuned but still fire-spent guitar tones, akin to Shaarimoth‘s more recent sonic transformation in some respects but less active overall. What this song communicates up front is that their sinister take on blackened death metal forms now accommodates doom differently and features some focus on different guitar techniques. With “Through Tunnels Ablaze” hitting right after the first impression made by ‘Cloven Tongues of Fire‘ bodes well for both abstract dual-rhythmic (at times dissonant) modulation, an Immolation-esque feat in most cases, and a similar level of cloud-parting sky boiling heat found on the first record.

Though ‘Cloven Tongues of Fire‘ appears illuminant to start I don’t know that Side A really compares with the immersive bellows and fiery slithering found on Side B. For all of the precision cut moldering and sweeping chaotic blackened stretches found on those earlier pieces I’d felt The Ominous Circle have set some of their best, most inventive material within “Black Flesh, Sulfur and All in Between” and the two pieces which benefit from its intoxicating momentum beyond that point. The conversation forged between that song’s slowly drawn and stretched main riffs, their additional harmonizing layers, and the scrambling lead guitar adornment available is brilliantly set in both interaction and effect. Their shambling yet pyrotechnic movements communicate chaotic dread-worthy immersion to the point that when the odd percussion hits nearby the ~5:18 minute mark the thread becomes unhinged, rattled out of its focus into scrawled leads and ‘Harnessing Ruin‘-like movement in the refrain resultant. For my own taste this is one of, if not the best song from the band to date, or, at least a piece which speaks to their work evolving in an unreal way.

By the time nearly ten minute closer “Utterance of the Formless” hits on the way out the greater arc of the band’s work becomes a bit more clear, a natural bookend to what “Lowest Immanations” had started earlier while continuing to introduce different ideas ’til the very end. While I am under no illusion of marked originality expressed here there is yet some great satisfaction to be found within the varying points of friction, collision, and shear force which drive all moving parts into entertaining cluster on the way through the full listen of this album; Although I was not immediately convinced that The Ominous Circle would return in any such steadfast state after so many years I do think it would be fair to say that if you liked that previous LP the essence of that work is yet revived and smartly reconditioned here. In any case ‘Cloven Tongues of Fire‘ is a much better record overall, a work which is not only more compelling in its compositional shape but also the general sense of conviction delivered, eclipsing the too-polished distance of the first. A high recommendation.

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