Cultum Interitum - Veneration of the New Dawn

CULTUM INTERITUM - Veneration of the New Dawn (GODZ OV WAR - CD 2021)

Time came for the second ominous presentation from Cultum Interitum. After confronting their debut "Poison of Being", I was fully ready with sharpened knives for "Veneration of the New Dawn" and I have to say that I do not feel disappointed with the content of this album. From its visual aspect to the musical offering, "Veneration of the New Dawn" is a solid and noteworthy piece of death / black metal, which you should not let go by. Although you need to remember that it's not really your typical black metal. Also, it is not music, which you would describe with such words as memorable, catchy or pleasant. Well, the whole aura of "Veneration of the New Dawn" music, as well as the riffage and everything else are incredibly thick, heavy and cavernous... They all are incredibly sinister and dark, echoing like in the deep, pitch black, in the obscure abyss, surrounding you from every side and taking into madness. 

Even vocals are not like your typical vocals, but more like blood freezing ghoulish voices. They do correspondent well with that vicious wall of harsh guitar riffage and the whole result gives rather disturbing experience. Definitely it is not something you hardly hear anywhere else, which is a great achievement of Cultum Interitum, in my opinion. But it is something what immediately let me put this album next to efforts from the likes of Grave Upheaval, for instance. Even if there can be some differences between these two bands, that general aura and style of their music can be quite alike sometimes. 

The music, with the riffs, arrangements, drumming, etc is rather simplistic, not to say primitive. I doubt that someone will call it spectacular, Cultum are not a band, which has "fireworks" in their songs. It is more focusing on creating that mentioned atmosphere, not on delivering headbanging riffs and other such stuff. It is one of these albums, which you better listen to in certain conditions, if you want it to speak to you properly. Most of that music goes slowly, almost crawling with its heaviness and fierceness. I do enjoy that trance like, sinister vibe it has though, there’s always a good moment to listen to such stuff in the night. And well, I have to say that Cultum Interitum do stand out on the Polish extreme metal scene strongly. 

Verdict: 80/100