Description

Iugulatus had a very short run as being an active Black Metal group. Hailing from Poland, the five piece formed in 2009, and recorded plenty of material. But, when drummer Wojtass left the group, the band changed their name to Architect of Disease, even though they still had two more albums worth of material waiting to be released. One of those albums is Satanic Pride, a five song full-length recorded in May and June of 2010 and officially released in 2012. Is this recording from beyond the metaphorical grave stand as a testament of what this line-up had to offer? Well Satanic Pride kicks things off quite well. The music jumps between having a nice mid-tempo groove you can easily bang your head along with, to faster material that can traverse into blast beat fuelled intensity among darker, melodic chords. Theres a great deal of variety that really stands out, though its around the chorus that things become a little more memorable. There, as well as some bridges, you can find the music taking on a slight epic tone that pushes things further as a Black Metal anthem, celebrating the heritage of the style in the lyrics, as well as the obvious passion and power in the performances from each member. Of course theres Beware the Flame from Undun, which isnt that bad a song for pushing eleven minutes, however it can feel a little dragged out. There are plenty of times where the bass impact simply is not as strong as it should be thanks to the many sections that have simpler riffs that are a few notes played before giving way to a moment of silence. Aside that, there are plenty of crushing passages to be found, really focusing on the bass kicks with a deeper sound from the guitars that can sometimes give way to some rather creepy riffs, as well as a decent amount of blastbeats that arent anything special, but do add enough variety to keep things from getting stale. While Beware the Flame from Undun is still good, its not the better of the two longer tracks. Demons Lust is actually a far better experience. The slower pace does take on more of a ritualistic vibe that the sinister, deeper vocal performance matches greatly. This also allows a little more complexity to stand out in the chords. The bass also gets a better chance to stand out on its own around the four minute mark, presenting some riffs with a louder hum than on previous songs. But, of the few tracks present, its Black Song of Necromancy that stands out the most. The band manages to mix the blastbeats superbly among the haunting chords. While the song doesnt always stay as deep or heavy as you would hope, often giving way to a higher pitch in areas such as the guitar solo. Other than that, the entire performance finds plenty of energy behind it, which works to make the music a lot richer, as well as have some tight shifts in pace, such as around the two-and-a-half minute mark when things slows down, and shortly after when it seamlessly switches back to the aggressive mid-tempo it was at before. Satanic Pride definitely does show plenty of pride in their work, making this an enjoyable Black Metal experience from start to finish. Sure, its only five songs, but theres a good amount of length to them, especially with Beware the Flame from Undun and Demons Lust, both presenting solid longer offerings with very little filler or obvious padding. Even though the music can be a bit too higher in pitch than it should be, the performances here are excellent, varying between early second wave haunting or ritualistic riffs, as well as modern blast beat fuelled rage. If you enjoy the style, Satanic Pride by Iugulatus is definitely worth giving a shot.

Track listing:
1. Satanic Pride
2. Chaos Invocation
3. Beware The Flame From Undun
4. Black Song Of Necromancy
5. Demons Lust