After a dark time of struggles and feuds extreme metallers Lord Mantis have found a new purpose and creative force leading to the latest venomous offering “Universal Death Church”.
“God’s Animal” certainly holds a fiery blackened sludge core generating a legit overdose of darkly enigmatic tonalities with galloping groovy guitar riffs and filtered spiteful screams while the solo manages to channel the perfect dosage of bleak melodies.
“Qliphotic Alpha” seems to belong to an underground post-apocalyptic realm as the heavy guitar riffs have a mournful doom flair well supported by the abrasive rhythmic section but later a series of slower arcane melodic guitar progressions will amplify the inner atmospheric desolation.
On “Consciousness.exe” the crunchy guitar driven grooves don’t really need extreme speed to grab your attention and the whole instrumental ensemble feels quite accessible also due to the comforting melodic gloom and the hazy atmospheric arrangements.
“Fleshworld” immediately unleashes an aggressive blackened approach further enhanced by the vitriolic screams so the atmosphere becomes pitchblack even when the tempo slows down a bit to focus on a grave emotional turmoil expressed by the somber doom aesthetics of the guitar work.
The compex final track “Hole” constantly evokes a mysterious aura through the ominous rhythmic maze still characterized by a darkened blend of sludge & doom yet there is a desire to experiment with different styles as the saxophone delivers moody dynamics and the synths create murky psychedelic atmospheric textures.
“Universal Death Church” marks the renewed union of Lord Mantis and certainly belongs to a realm of darkness and torment as symbolized by the instrumental chaotic moments and the abstract atmospheres.