Beastiality – Sacrificial Chants

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5 years is a hell of a time to leave fans waiting. Especially if that 5 years is since you released your debut studio album. But for fans of BEASTIALITY (I’m sorry but that sentence will ever sound right in my mind!) the time has come; 5 long years and the wait is over as the new EP “Sacrificial Chants” drops. The artwork is interesting, nothing particularly special but would slot in well to any library.

Opening the EP is the imaginatively named “Intro” and really this is just there to set some of the ambience, as the hazy track creates an effective atmosphere leading into “Sacrificial Chants”. Here we really see what BEASTIALITY is all about… An intense structure of pounding riffs, driving rhythms on the drums and an uncompromising aggressive vocal track that just strikes straight at my core. But that’s not to say that there aren’t more delicate sections; the breakdowns / guitar breaks show a different element in the band’s roster and really adding to the atmosphere of the overall music superbly. But to me, there just seems to be this awesome blend of old school Black Metal meets old school Hard Rock, just with the styles displayed in the breaks etc and I find it absolutely enthralling.

“Sinner” erupts to life with renewed energy and intensity. The impenetrable wall of music crashes against my headphones in an almost ruthless frenzy, barely even breaking to catch their breath. If this intensity is what awaits a sinner… then I may need to rethink a few life choices! “Thy Kingdom Dead” continues along the themes that have gone before. A dense structure, all musicians working in tandem to create this complex and intricate sound. When this is combined with the energy of performance, it’s genuinely surprising that the guys have anything left to give after each track, they must be exhausted! But all throughout, interspersed in that dense tracking, is some absolutely divine musicianship from guitarists Heinrich and Krigshora.

The final track “The Black Sun Prophecy” takes a little bit of everything that has been displayed throughout and throws it, full throttle, at the listener. A final, breathless performance that leaves me as a listener wanting more. Hopefully within the next 5 years!

Overall, this has been a great release. Each track has been built on a similar blueprint, but they have all also been quite clearly their own individual tracks. I think that the standard of musicianship has been superb and that all at BEASTIALITY should be incredibly proud of what they have produced.

Song writing: 9
Originality: 8
Memorability: 10
Production: 8