Seemingly out of nowhere the Portuguese band Saevus Finis has appeared, with a debut album named Facilis Descensus Averno that’s set for release on January 12th by Transcending Obscurity Records.
For the very few of you who don’t keep a Latin dictionary close to hand, Saevus Finis means “the savage end” and Facilis Descensus Averno means “descent to hell”. Entirely fitting, those words, because the Saevus Finis rendition of death metal on their debut is indeed savage and hellish — punishingly heavy and unnerving in the extreme, a musical fashioning of destructive ruination, sheer madness, and harrowing agonies that makes a startling impression.
As tangible proof of these opinions, today we’re presenting the third song from the album to be revealed so far.
You’ll not need a Latin dictionary to comprehend the name of the song we’re presenting today — “Aeons of Spiritual Starvation“, but you might need something solid to hang onto when you hear it. It begins without prelude, in a convulsion of drums and the moaning of a bass, with unnerving peals of abrasive, dissonant guitar ringing above in madness.
Those guitars continue raking like claws through double-bass tumult and gargantuan gutturals. The heavy-as-hell bass causes the song to lurch as the chords ruthlessly slash and the drums boom and clatter. The guitars also seem to scream, and the vocalist joins them, with the rhythm section delivering bone-jarring jolts and the drummer then using the kit like automatic weaponry.
Only at the end does the turmoil somewhat subside, though the mewling ring of the guitars sounds like hopeless agony.
In a nutshell, this is a song that’s both brutally punishing and deranged, using the listeners’ nerves like playgrounds for the insane lost in spasms of hallucination.
SAEVUS FINIS are:
Mortvorvm (Wells Valley) – Vocals, Guitars
Sangvis Aestvs (Concealment) – Bass
MCMXII – Drums
As mentioned, the song we’re presenting today was preceded by two others from the album — “Thou Hast Destroyed Thyself” and “Scourge of Humanity“. You’ll find streams of both songs below. Neither of those is any more merciful than the one we’ve premiered.
In both, the dissonant guitars seem simultaneously like implements of torture and the mind-ruining pain of the tortured. In both, the rhythm section will keep you own your toes with their variations and remorselessly beat you senseless. In both, the vocals are bestial and berserk.
Neither of them backs down — full-bore intensity remains the order of the day. Even when the snare methodically snaps near the end of “Scourge…“, the dense roiling tones of the guitars might be the most frightening (and wholly immersive) phase of all these songs.
T.O. will release Facilis Descensus Averno on CD and digital formats, with lots of apparel options and other merch. They recommend it for fans of Immolation, Burial Hordes, Incantation, Morbid Angel, Viande, and Maere.
PRE-ORDER:
https://saevusfinis.bandcamp.com/album/facilis-descensus-averno
http://transcendingobscurity.aisamerch.com/
http://eu.tometal.com/
SAEVUS FINIS:
http://facebook.com/realsaevusfinis