Lucifericon – The Occult Waters 12” MLP
As they have done successfully with Necrocurse, Blood Harvest are aiding another cavalcade of underground icons in an ongoing oldster quest bent on instructing black/death kiddies on the proper way to construct worthy anti-tunes of extreme Metal. Originally self-released in 2012, the vinyl release The Occult Waters by Lucifericon (comprised of ‘unnamed’ members of Malicious Dream, Excision, Destroyer 666, and Pentacle) contains all the expected varieties of early ’80s black/death meat and potatoes boiling together in a fetid stew of human and electrified sounds. And while little has been done toward reconstructing the approaches undertaken by the black and death grandfathers (Possessed/Sodom/early Death/early Bathory, et al), the sheer attention to songcraft over pugilism lends each track a memorable, nigh-hummable character exceedingly rare in albums this dark. Stirred in a mossy cauldron with an eye toward might-filled melodicism, bringing to mind Covenant/Domination Morbid Angel (present in conspicuous passages amongst the eighteen minutes of The Occult Waters), a tapestry belying the sum of Lucifericon’s woven parts begs further study.
I won’t go as far as to suggest Lucifericon bypass the efforts of the hell squadrons from which each member have sprung, but the blitz of these wizened warmen cannot be disregarded by the underground. A sharpness of performance, fueled by Lucifericon’s cumulative years of stage command, has given The Occult Waters the feel of composition by instinct – a tenet of musicianship that, truly, only experience can evoke. If a full-length is forthcoming, black/death fans will then find Lucifericon comfortably razing lands fiercely once defended by younger peers, they whom are also intent upon reviving the riffery of a beloved and ancient scene. -Jim
Blood Harvest
Worm Gear 