Deus Sabaoth - 2025 - Cycle Of Death

(31:05; Deus Sabaoth)

Track list:
1. The Priest 4:40
2. Mercenary Seer 4:26
3. Cycle of Death 4:29
4. Executioner 3:45
5. The Blind 04:06
6. Faceless Warrior 5:38
7. Beginning of New War 4:01

Line-up:
Nikolas Exul - vocals
Ercld - drums
Alyona Neith - bass
with:
Session musicians - guitars, violin, piano


Ukraine band Deus Sabaoth was formed back in 2023, and following the release of some initial singles the band launched their debut album "Cycle of Death" now at the start of 2025. A production that was self released by the band.

It is a foray into the extreme metal environment we get in this case, and it is one that have incorporate quite a lot of elements from classical music too. Rather than making use of symphonic overlays or effects of a more grandiose nature, this is a band that mix and blend the classical and extreme metal traditions in a rather different manner.

Delicate chamber music opening sequences revolving around the piano and the violin is a bit of a staple on this creation, and fairly often we find that the compositions have been book ended by constructions of this nature. Classical music interludes are a feature inside many of the compositions themselves too, often by way of the piano, with a sometime addition of some extreme metal elements that emphasize this album's overall blend of classical music and extreme metal.

When the compositions switch over to a more extreme metal expression, this is with an ongoing wandering piano motif as a just about ever present part of these landscapes, and unless I'm much mistaken the violin will present as a sometime part of this undercurrent too. On top we have a guitar riff and rhythm driven interface, ranging from doom-laden trajectories through midpaced landscapes and into a more cutting and higher paced variety of extreme metal. With gruff, distorted and suitably aggressive lead vocals ensuring that the extreme metal aspect of it all is very much present.

This is a creation that exist in the ebb and flow between the purebred classical music displays, the more intense extreme metal forays, and the manner in which elements from the former has been added to the latter to create a natural and logical flow and development. An elegant streak is a prevalent aspect of this production, as an undercurrent when the band go all out in the extreme metal realm and as a charming and dominant presence when the band are set in gentler and more delicate sounding territories. Both of which ensure that this production also comes across as a striking and elegant one. Even if the mood and atmosphere tends to be on the dark and borderline aggressive and mournful side of matters.

If you believe that delicate and elegant classical music of the chamber music tradition and extreme metal are types of music appropriate and interesting to combine in a few different manners, you should find this debut album by Deus Sabaoth to be generally interesting in its own right I suspect. And if the notion of having this combination is explored in elegant and atmospheric laden landscapes, where a mournful spirit and a bit of an aggressive display both are present sounds like a good thing to you, this is an album that merits an inspection.

Olav M. Björnsen, February 2025

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/deussabaothband