Sarpanitum - Fidelium

Self Released 2011

1.None Shall They Receive 2.Before The Walls 3.Fidelium 4.Sanctus Incendia

The UK is a currently awash with a lot of very talented musicians right now, more and more bands upping the ante and showcasing extreme metal at its very best. One band in amongst the excitement are Sarpanitum who excell in precisely played brutal blackened death metal. ‘None Shall They Receive’ is as good as you will hear from the genre, blazing forth in an orgy of blast beats and technical yet catchy death metal riffing, guitar solos featuring heavily in this opening track. All played skilfully and managing to retain a sense of melody whilst absolutely killing everything in their path – really impressive! The overall feel to the track is death metal, but by adding a BM influence the band add an extra dimension to their barrage. The pace is unrelenting, blast beats setting an impressive pace and featuring very heavily throughout. The ultra-guttural vocals work extremely well over all of the song, completing both the death metal and black metal riffing excellently. ‘Before The Walls’ is an absolute monster of track, the pace similar to the previous track. Theres a slightly more crazed and technical feel here, dischordant riffs introduced which sound absolutely manic when played at this pace. As with the opener, the drums absolutely lay waste. To end the track there’s a heavy BM influence, a brutally melodic end to one hell of a track.

‘Fidelium’ is something and nothing, a sampled interlude used as a stop gap between tracks. Atmospheric yes, but not really necessary. Another song would have been a much more attractive proposition. ‘Sanctus Incendia’ closes this e.p and to start with sounds very different to the two previous songs, showing a very heavy old school U.S death metal influence (Incantation anyone?). This doesn’t last long however, the technical blast beat laden brutal blackened death metal being the bands strongest element and re-introduced as soon as the song allows. The band is definitely at their best when the pace is super-fast, which is most of the time! Slower, more melodic passages are introduced and do work well and does show a willingness to experiment in their sound to escape becoming one dimensional, which they do to great effect. Obviously accomplished musicians, Sarpanitum are a pleasing highlight in the current UK extreme metal underground scene. Plans are underway for a new release with a new full line up which, if anything like this release, will be one of THE albums to have in 2012. Extreme blackened death metal, precisely played and a shining example of “how it’s done”, this comes highly recommended.

8.5 out of 10