Sickrites – Irreverent Death Megaliths (Osmose Productions)

Wednesday, 30th April 2014
Rating: 6.5/10

Cavernous death metal seems to be making its way into the spotlight more and more as of late. That dark, bottom-dwelling, and oppressive tone that just wants to asphyxiate the last breath of life from you before the final note comes calling can make for some unsettling and rapturous moments given the right toolkit. Irreverent Death Megaliths is operating with the right materials, but just can’t live up to some of the greater names out there at the moment.

With an initial listen, many features unsurprisingly point their way towards Incantation. The sepulchral tone, the jump from crushing doom to bursts of speed, and even the ominous gutteral roars of the vocals all lean in this direction. The problem is that many of the riffs simply don’t stick with the listener. Not that there is anything bad or subpar, just ordinary. Even the more raging, less doomy moments like in “Necrogenesis Voids” have a feeling of familiarity. Sickrites does manage some of their own magic though, and uses some keyboard magic from time to time to make the ears perk up. This gives a some of tracks more of their own atmosphere, such as “Procession to Belial,” “Deathstorms,” and “Dweller of the Fleshtombs.”

Sans some interesting synth use, Sickrites don’t really bring much new to the table with Irreverent Death Megaliths. With bands like Portal, Impetuous Ritual, and Aevangelist crawling through new, lower depths within the cavernous death metal zone, standard efforts such as this one tend to come across more as merely passable. Good for a listen or two, but then it’s time to move along to something that captures the imagination just a little bit more.

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