Sacrarium – March To An Inviolable Death (2009) [Self-Released] // Grade: B-

French Black Metal may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but Sacrarium doesn’t seem to be phased by that. Like most Black Metal, the guitar and drum combination is somewhat overpowering, leaving the listener enveloped in a rain of blast beats. March To An Inviolable Death has blast beats, but the riffs seem to overpower the drums in most of the songs.

The opening track “A.C.R.H.” contains the typical war-like chants and vocal overlays and feeds directly into “Heartless Visions”, one of those blast beat tracks I was referring to earlier. At a staggering 7-minutes long, your initial reaction is to skip the track. What keeps me tuned in though is the lead singer’s (V.R.S.?) vocals. That and the constant onslaught of intricately-woven riffs which grow in intensity, overpowering the drummer’s work. The track peaks mid-way where synthesized noise leads you down a different path, reminiscent of Satyricon’s “Diabolical Now”.

This is why I like this album so much. It’s filled with changes and shifts in tempo, which drastically improve the album’s composition as a whole. “Demolish By Himself” picks up some of the same riffs and drums, but more so here, than before, the riffs begin to slow down towards the end of the track, where the band’s melodic side begins to show.

“Phantomatic Landscape” was the moment where I realized Sacrarium is more than likely using a drum machine. It’s fast as fuck. The track pounds you with blast beats and rapid double kicks. “Through Centuries” continues the same assault and it’s only during “Terribilis Est Locus Iste” where you pick up the melodic guitar riffs once again.

“This Is The Final Warning” is by far the best track on the album. It’s brutal, fast, and for once, you can begin to pick up on the lead singer’s lyrics. It’s almost as if he wants you to understand what he’s saying here, like it is an actual warning. With his last breath, the album dies, leaving you the “Outro”, which is mostly more apocalyptic noise.

Overall, if you’re a huge Black Metal fan and you always need to hear the new albums, it’s a good choice, it’s fast, technical and plays really well. If you’re looking for something new in the genre, you can skip it. This album is straight up French Black Metal. Sacrarium is a good band with even greater potential. I’m sure their next release will be even better.

- Prolly