Reverence To Paroxysm – Lux Morte

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Twixt sludgy death metal and obscure doom metal, Mexican four-piece Reverence to Paroxysm strike a chord by showing their inspiration to the likes of Rippikoulu, Rottrevore, Funebrarum, and Disma. The first full-length album “Lux Morte” was released by none other than Me Saco Un Ojo Records (vinyl) and Dark Descend Records (CD) on August 31, 2023.

While the six prolonged tracks are brimming with the thick sludgy tone of the heavy guitars, there is an overall atmosphere of poisonous vapor consistently measured by the crushing drumbeats. The songs are mostly mid-paced and remarkable for their grotesquerie ugliness when the sluggish glum growling imbues the opening track “Astray Descent”. Reverence to Paroxysm may lack originality, but what makes them so appealing is the ominous fashion of the riffs to apply a darker feel to the slow-pacing tempos. Even though the pacing of the drums is mostly dynamic and propelling descending all of a sudden into brutal paces.

The album’s production is raw and unpolished allowing the instruments to omit a rumbling noise, when it comes to utter brutality drummer Leonardo Cardoso (Fumata, and Vinnum Sabbathi) unleashes unbridled brutality in the track “AD Putrefactio”. Brooding atmosphere laden with a horrible aura of death, as for the growling in the album vocalist and guitarist Antimo Buonnano (Castlelumbra, Hacavitz, and Profantor) emits some sickening monstrous low-end grunts. The guitars also contrast with the guttural growls, and they sound sluggish, laden with ominous sections chugging along some down-tuned death metal riffs.

Despite the fact that the album lacks any variation, “Burial Absolute” may sound repugnant. The bass guitar of Alan Di González is extremely down-tuned adding thick layers and nuances thus creating a miasmic mist that hangs over the bombardment of the brutal drums. The slow brooding sound of the cavernous riffs of César Sánchez Silva (Castlelumbra, Hacavitz, and Profanator) is rather rooted in the style of sluggish doom. However, some tempos may be too slow and monotonous, the drums retain the same level of brutality only to crush the listener with heavy drumbeats.

The band’s musicianship and coherence are tight, but the whole sound pertains to the underground metal style, with an overall feel of thickness to the sludgy riffs. There is a greater focus on creating a creepy aura that drips with black sludge. “Lux Morte” is absolutely a brutal album and features some sickening repulsive growls that deluge the ears with brooding melancholy and malign atmosphere that only share similarities to cavernous Finnish death metal bands like Krypts.

The atmosphere can be really dark and depressing at times when the riffs become pensive, always keeping the sound brutal and impactful and drawing the listener to drown in a quagmire of filth. The drums on “Necropacity” erupt into a series of heavy bludgeoning, but they’re sporadically emphasized when required. The bass is heavy and down-tuned, which is very similar to bands like Rottrevore.

Reverence to Paroxysm applies some subtle shifts in the tempos with brutal drumming contrasting the horrible effect of the growls. The cavernous palette is doom-laden, adding a sense of unearthly horror, though some slower tempos have similarities to Anatomia. Tracks like “Portals To Dark Misery” are molded with cavernous death metal brutality, but still maintain the slugging tempo. “Lux Morte” isn’t entirely slow and doomy the Mexican quartet has broadened their range to infuse rotten death metal riffs and contorted bass guitar tone where the atmosphere constantly overflows obscure undercurrents.

The closing track “Care Data Vermibus” is the most extended cut in the album and begins with the darkest riff note. The slow eerie riffs plunge into the abysmal depths of hell and the howling vocals apply a blackened tone of horror as the drums and the guitars transition from slower tempo to chunky brutal riffs and blast beats. But there is really something menacing about these growls that elevate the song to sound as blackened and sophisticated. And perhaps there are some more variations in this song than the previous ones, this is personally my favorite track for sounding monolithic yet dynamic.

REVIEW SCORE

  • Music / Songwriting 8/10
  • Vocals / Lyrics 8/10
  • Mix / Production 9/10
  • Artwork & Packaging 8/10
  • Originality 9/10
8.4

Reverence To Paroxysm displays many styles that are encapsulated in death/doom metal, and throughout forty-five minutes, “Lux Morte” opens these dark portals to the unearthly realms.

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