WARLUST - Sol Invictus In Umbrae Satanae LP
Once one of the metal underground’s best-kept secrets, WARLUST began their assault on the false in 2012. The title of their debut demo, 2014’s Unholy Attack, said everything it needed to: here was blackthrashing METAL, steeped in the spirits of old and with genuinely evil blood coursing through its veins. However, it was 2017’s Morbid Execution debut album where WARLUST first truly took flight – on burning wings of flame! More intense, more epic, more heavy fucking metal, Morbid Execution carried on the noble work started by founding fathers Desaster in their homeland and Deströyer 666, Zemial, and Aura Noir abroad. Still, more swords were to be sharpened, and they were held aloft in glorious might on WARLUST’s second album (and first for DYING VICTIMS), 2020’s Unearthing Shattered Philosophies. Unshackling themselves from a strict(er) blackthrash template, the band’s songwriting blossomed on their sophomore assault alongside an increased understanding (and usage) of dynamics. Meanwhile, WARLUST’s simultaneously cryogenic / burning-hot melodicism heighten comparisons to classic Dissection and Necrophobic and justifiably garnered a wealth of acclaim upon its release.
That noble trajectory continues, four years later, on WARLUST’s Sol Invictus In Umbrae Satanae. That title serves as a clarion call for those who heed the call of Hell’s heavy metal – eternal, unyielding, suffused with strength and vigor in times of terror and triumph, melancholy and malevolence. Taking a wider view of WARLUST’s discography, this third album follows logically from its predecessor, making for an equally-cutting counterpart compared to the rougher outlier of the debut. Thankfully, then, little has changed in the band’s arsenal – the narratives are epic but always urgent, the melodicism still surges and sways with maximum evil, muscular chops melded with blackest atmosphere – but if there’s one uptick to be said for Sol Invictus In Umbrae Satanae, it’s how HUGE the whole record sounds. Much of that can be attributed to the pronounced integration of marching mid-tempos as well as some tasteful clean tones, but from the brief intro to bristling opener “Serpent Crown” onward, WARLUST exude both a tightness and clarity of execution that altogether spell “classy,” and all without any sacrifice of their original black/death fire. Put another way, with the palatably professional production pushing the album atop the uppermost echelon of nowadays evil metal, the Germans sound like they could command the biggest of stages, wielding their weapons of sonic sin with the composure and charisma befitting of total legends. But that legendry is still being written, and Sol Invictus In Umbrae Satanae is no doubt WARLUST’s biggest & boldest script yet!
Gatefold edition LP on black vinyl, with poster, sticker, post card, download code
Dying Victims Prod. 2024
