AN NCS PREMIERE: DEATHCULT — “DEATH IN JULY”

 

On September 26, Invictus Productions will uncage Beasts of Faith, the debut album by the Swiss band Deathcult. One of these beasts has already been pulled into the spotlight from the shadows by DECIBEL magazine, and today we do the same for a second one — a song called “Death In July”.

For discerning listeners, Deathcult’s first demo in 2012 made quite a strong impact and their 2014 EP Pleading for Death . . . Choking on Life only confirmed that Deathcult were a distinctive cult worth watching. In those earlier years the band’s profile no doubt benefitted from the presence in the line-up of vocalist/guitarist O. Ketzer of Bölzer, but Beasts of Faith proves that Deathcult’s talents run deep and remain strong without him on this new album.

 

 

“Death In July” is a barrage of strafing riffs and ack-ack guns going off, alternating with hellish cavalry charges. After a few rounds of that kind of mayhem, the guitarist takes off in one black-gilded riff after another as the band fluidly move between varying tempos, coming to rest eventually in a slow, gruesome crawl spiced by a scintillating solo — before spurring themselves on for one final explosion of barbarity.

The sheer dynamism of the song is one of its strong points, as is the band’s inspired invocation of timeless styles of death metal along the way. The vocalist’s banshee shrieks and mastiff growls put the poisonous icing on this foul and festering cake. It’s an electrifying experience, to say the least, and one that will get your blood rushing.

 

Invictus will release Beasts of Faith on CD in 12 days, while Iron Bonehead will be releasing a vinyl version later this year. For more info, visit the pages linked below.

https://invictusproductions666.bandcamp.com/album/beasts-of-faith

https://www.facebook.com/deathmetalcult
http://www.invictusproductions.net
http://www.facebook.com/InvictusProductions
http://www.ironbonehead.de
https://www.facebook.com/IronBoneheadProductions

And if you missed the DECIBEL premiere of “Barren Land”, we’ve installed that below, right after “Death in July”.