Warlust hails from Germany and has been storming the battlefield since 2012, yet Sol Invictvs In Vmbrae Satanae, released via the equally German Dying Victim Productions, is only their third album. I hadn’t listened to this infernal quartet’s music before (or I can’t remember). As far as I know, this Warlust hasn’t been featured on Zware Metalen before either. Whether we should call that a shame, we’ll soon find out, but the answer is yes. So, I’ve shown once again that I’m not a fan of surprises.
When a band doesn’t sound familiar to me, or if I can’t immediately recall them from memory, I look them up and especially check if the members have any experience in other extreme bands. That often provides some extra information I can work with. That’s what I did with this Warlust as well. But bands like The Night Eternal, Lam of Pulsar don’t ring a bell either—not even a chime or anything. Probably a shame, especially in the case of the first one, because that band releases albums via Ván Records.
After a fairly pleasant intro with very little added value, it takes a while before the first full track on this album begins. However, Serpent Crown immediately kicks things off solidly. Vigorous cymbal work, thundering toms and double bass sounds, sharp and slightly screeching guitars hit you right away. It takes more than two minutes before you’re confronted with the vocals, and at first, they don’t even accompany a majestic blast beat. Instead, they drag the song into a thrashy section. Well done! The gentlemen don’t forget squealing solos either, along with a melodic picking section, which leads back into that majestic blast beat. The seven-minute opening track can immediately be labeled as one of the favorites on this album. Wow, the guys must have thought, ‘let’s do that again,’ and with Between Apeiron & Plague they bring out the same ingredients once more—delightful! And those solos, man…
The rolling picking suggests that the title track will be delivered at an equally high level, but it turns out to be just a meandering, gently flowing instrumental. The ominous tone returns in …of Gallows & Absurdity. The mix of German and Polish school elements clearly surfaces in this track, not least through the phrasing, but also thanks to the vigorous and playful cymbal work. And then there’s still a handful of brilliant, brutal, melodic black metal gems to come…
This Sol Invictvs In Vmbrae Satanae from the German band Warlust is no sick record—let’s say it’s very sick! Don’t get me wrong, in our jargon ‘sick’ just means the music sounds wonderfully acidic, and that you need to get this record. End of year list material! What an album!
Score:
95/100
Label:
Dying Victims Productions, 2024
Tracklisting:
- In Concord & Euphoria (Intro)
- Serpent Crown
- Between Apeiron & Plague
- Sol Invictus In Umbrae Satanae
- …of Gallows & Absurdity
- Forgotten Cult Of Chronos
- The Followless
- Legio! Aeterna! Victrix!
- Black Souls
Line-up:
- Nuktemeron – Bass guitar, vocals
- Necromancer – Vocals, guitar
- Warmachine – Drums
- Aeon – Guitar
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