In rabid excavation of the archetypal void-sense a map is plotted within the fevered mind palaces of Barcelona, Spain-based atmospheric death/doom metal band Sanctuarium who arrive upon their debut full-length statement quite early in their existence wherein they nonetheless present a wholly realized and thrilling enough ‘old school’ contribution to funereal, dread-bound and creeping hot death metal mannerism. ‘Into the Mephitic Abyss‘ nails the stoked dynamism and competitive fire of classic death metal first and foremost, wailing on a lethal dose of menacing riffcraft and horrified atmosphere in crypt-like resonance as they construct death metal music specifically for the lotus-eaters and gloom hounds among us. It ends up being one of the more impressive death metal debuts of the year thus far and certainly an artist to take seriously going forward.

Sanctuarium is one of three death/doom metal-adjacent projects which musician Necrohelm (Jade) realized during the first two years beyond plague year zero, having only just started building momentum in stoner/doom metal project Mahara (now Ered Guldur) and the more popular black metal/dungeon synth solo act Calderum a couple of years prior. Whereas Exhumation aims for sparse, severe funeral doom metal arrangements and remains distinct as such the differences between the slightly more funereal death/doom of Trollcave and the more mid-paced death metal socked side of Sanctuarium becomes a bit more blurry as each configuration reaches their own point of do-it-yourself LP readiness. Now that each group have fleshed into full lineups and seem to be aiming for live performances those differences should intensify over time but, no doubt the guiding hand of Necrohelm is felt in each of his works from the artwork to his steadily improving ear from rehearsal room ‘old school’ death metal gloom and grit. In fact I’m not sure most listeners will recognize the style of the first demo tape (‘Cadaveric Reminiscence‘, 2021) from Sanctuarium as closer to the Disembowelment-esque touches of ‘Rotted Remnants Dripping into the Void‘. Not a bad thing, eh, since everything this fellowe touches is created in admirable tradition and comes with some considerable skill, classicist pieces with plenty of inspired atmosphere.

Though Sanctuarium formed as a solo act (and are now a quartet) ‘Into the Mephitic Abyss‘ was recorded as a duo now featuring vocals from Carlos (Trollcave) which won’t appear as a too-drastic shift from the register of their demo tape until the full range of his vocals are explored on this record. While the default vocal is a cavernous Incantation-esque growl best suited for the mid-to-fast paced angle most songs take this changes per the realm explored. “Mephitic Abyss” is probably the most clear example of the vocalist capably moving between various modes, finding the right cadence for the doom metal riff-stoked verses, leaning into the more brutal downturn in the middle section of the song and leaning slightly more distant and guttural during the funeral death/doom nausea of the atmospheric side of things. While this song doesn’t explore the more textural fumbling of other pieces, nor does it touch upon the atonally ringing doom metal riffs that feature on others, we do get a pretty good idea of just how much Necrohelm is able to pack into each of these four ~8-9 minute songs, all of it relevant to the general interest of 90’s death/doom metal fanatics who likewise dabble in funeral doom, caverncore, and revisionist ‘old school’ death metal (+ kitchen sink) influenced groups of the last decade.

The riffs are plentiful and the mood is miserably surreal, all of the right boxes are checked in terms of aesthetic and sub-genre apropos stylization but these are all points of niche dressing for the large success of most any release from Necrohelm, the dynamically wandering mind of his compositions and their occasional warmed-over resonance in progression. Each piece on this record escapes the soft, even-keeled slobber of feigned dread we find in a lot of upstart death/doom metal today and instead presents true extremes in a multitude of values and this generally creates a sense of sentient movement in full spectrum — the sort of choices a ‘bigger picture’ mind makes in the thick of composition. Yes, it is a matter of simply taking a ‘ride’ through the jog and growling kick of the first couple of pieces but Sanctuarium ultimately goes somewhere redeeming with ‘Into the Mephitic Abyss‘ which balances deep-set fandom for the sub-genre with some ambition applied to this strong take. For a debut full-length it is a fine first stab which fans of the real thing will instantly recognize and the overall effect (again) only improves as each track growls past. A high recommendation.

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