Canada produces, on average, some of the finest, most killer Black Metal and Death Metal. It’s the home to Black Metal titans Blasphemy, Death Metal tricksters VHS, and hordes of other, equally deadly bands capable of crushing the listener into mulch.
Enter Sedimentum. Suppuration morphogénésiaque was at the top of my year-end list that year, and it was their phenomenal use of cavernous, depths of the molten earth production alá Incantation and Writhing. As of this writing, they have released two Demos and two splits and hopefully, there will be a new full-length following this mini album.
But we’re in the here and now and anything is good when these guys are involved so it was no surprise that I was beyond excited when I saw that they were releasing a new anything.
I’m not disappointed either; Derrière les portes d’une arcane transcendante is a fucking infernal beast clocking in at a respectable 21:02 and Sedimentum bring their cavernous, Incantation style Death Metal to the slimy core of the earth to once again bludgeon the ears of the unsuspecting masses.
“Vilénie” gets it going right away with some eerie intro vibes that rise and fall like rogue waves before the music grabs you and throttles you with fists of enraged fury. For 7:01 minutes you’re taken on a roller-coaster ride. It’s a slow roller-coaster ride though, this is where Sedimentum shines; a slow death underneath a pile of rocks, a totally crushing delivery.
“Le labyrinthe sempiternel” is the second salvo from Sedimentum’s arsenal, and it’s absolutely deadly. Explosive blasting and that murky atmosphere of dread that permeate through the three tracks. It’s completely menacing how they switch from striding blasts into a rolling thunder double bass monstrosity.
The closing track “Inhumation céleste (Au carillon mordoré)” hits you in the in the chest like a shotgun blast. Incoming riffs act like rusty razors to flay the eardrum and bore deeper into the center of the brain. There’s a killer breakdown near the beginning of the song that’s seismic, and Sedimentum keeps changing tempos with the deftness of a Fencing master. It’s a 7:30-minute giant and brings the best conclusion possible.
If you love the groovy sounds of Incantation, and the mighty Writhing, Molder or Maul; or just cavernous Death Metal that drags you through a decaying swamp of riffs and earthshaking rhythms, then Derrière les portes d’une arcane transcendante is the album for you. Get it right away.
