PERDITION TEMPLE - "MALIGN APOTHEOSIS" LP

By now, PERDITION TEMPLE require no introduction: the power-trio's esteemed lineup credentials speak for themselves, and more so do they within the realm of this militant death metal whirlwind. Malign Apotheosis is the band's first album of all-new material since 2020's classic Sacraments of Descension, and they waste no time laying waste to the listener. Savage, feral, but fully locked-in as a unit, PERDITION TEMPLE's cyclonic sound is immediately recognizable as theirs, and theirs alone: bilious, blackened, and bursting at the seams with chaotic, carnivorous intent. Still, despite the flurry of soul-slaying death metal at hand, Malign Apotheosis manages to be incredibly memorable in its songwriting; riff, solo, and breakdown form a searing symbiosis that's pure evil to the very end. Of especial note is the album's recording - sooty, rustic, and actually more "old"-sounding than PERDITION TEMPLE's two albums over a decade ago - that, when stacked against some of the newer twists of texture here, make Malign Apotheosis a triumph of both consolidation and reinvigoration. These barbarian warlords excel at "Fell Sorcery" indeed!