Dominus Xul - To the Glory of the Ancient Ones

DOMINUS XUL - To the Glory of the Ancient Ones (XTREEM Music - CD 2011)

It's been some time since I have written anything about my utter appreciation for the Chilean death metal scene. So, I will do it again, this time influenced by the sheer fierceness and brutality of Dominus Xul's "To the Glory of the Ancient Ones". It is not a new album, obviously. It was unleashed a decade ago, through Xtreem Music, but maybe it is exactly a good reason why I should remind this killer album.  

As for Dominus Xul, they are quite old band, formed in the early 90's as Dominus - under this moniker they did two demos, if I remember that correctly. Then as Dominus Xul two albums were released. I never had a chance to get "The Primigeni Xul (I Condemned My Enemies)", which is a shame, since I hold "To the Glory of the Ancient Ones" high in my ranking. This second effort, from 2011, is a fantastic piece of death metal, if you ask me. Oh, did I mention that Dominus Xul's line up involves people, who are also members of acts such as Magnanimus, Melektaus or Trimegisto? 

But what can you expect from Dominus Xul? Well, I can sincerely say that this band sounds exactly the best Chilean death metal way. Which is that brutal, obscure, vicious and evil sounding stuff, which has a strong Incantation or Immolation influence and which with its heaviness and powerful sound can really blow the speakers out and turn everything into ruin. Their suffocating riffs really have a great feeling and massiveness, and let's not forget that they often hold also that brilliant Morbid Angel-esque mesmerizing, ominous atmosphere. You will find here plenty of fast, neckbreaking paces, but a lot of killer, crushing slow stuff is here also. Songs on "To the Glory of the Ancient Ones" embrace everything what such type of death metal needs. And I am fully content with it. Songwriting is great, the production is properly murky, brutal and raw... What else do you need. I mean, if you fancy bands like Unaussprechlichen Kulten or Godless, then Dominus Xul will be up your street for sure. I love this album, would love to see it on vinyl... And I really need to grab their debut as well.  

Standout tracks: “The Secret of Liquid Arcane”, “Elements Against Weakness” 

Verdict: 80/100