Sortilegium – Unholy Land (2010)

It’s nice to finally hear a decent new release in one of my favorite genres: Death/Doom Metal. Seems like most bands that played this genre have died down, or moved on to play Funeral Doom Metal (a genre that bores the shit out of me). But thanks to Mr. Tregor Russo and his band Sortilegium, the candle for this style of music is still lit.

Sortilegium has been and on and off band, and finally is back with “Unholy Land” a 4-song promo that has made me dig up my old Paramecium, etc albums. After this statement you can figure out how good this release is.

The band claims to have jazz and fusion influences that I don’t particularly hear much in their music, and the baroque influence is only on the acoustic parts, like the beginning of the second track and the instrumental fourth song. However, none of these things make a difference when it comes to the core of the band’s sound.

The band’s core sound is a very well crafted heavy mid tempo guitar sound that at times makes Death Metal bands sound like Pop music. The intricate guitar melodies are very well crafted and excellently written. The deep growls are amazing, something I really enjoy from these types of bands. The drumming does a great job in keeping up with the complex guitar sections. Another interesting element is the minimalistic keyboard arrangements use through the songs creating a very eerie feeling.

Overall the band’s sound is great, the general think atmosphere that is created in this album is very fitting for a release of this genre. Sortilegium is surely a great band, and while this genre is not very popular these days (and probably ever) it’s great to see them putting the effort in this musical direction. I can only expect better things from this band, but until then “Unholy Land” will be added to my constant rotation of CD’s.

Release: January 2010

Country: Italy