Debut album from Blood Of Kingu 2007 ‘De Occulta Philosophia’ was a release that lovers of Ukrainian black metal had high expectation of. Led by Roman Saenko and comprising of other members of Drudkh, Hate Forest, Astrofaes and others within the potent musical underground hotbed of the country, this promised a lot. It was also an album that combined different ideas and musical sounds from lost civilisations such as Sumerian, Ancient Egyptian and Tibetan and to be fair it worked fairly well on a more instrumental approach. Put out by small British label Supernal and then later on Debemur Morti the album pretty much sunk without much of a trace and on listening to it again just before penning this review I can pretty much see why. The good news is that after a few years break and back again signed by Candlelight I can safely say that second album ‘Sun In The House Of The Scorpion’ sees the band coming into their own and is a far better defined and dynamic album than its predecessor.
Song titles are suitably preposterous and the ideas so often seen by the likes of Nile, Scarab, Melechesh et al are blended into newer, higher forms of extremity. The album on the whole rages, there is no other way to describe it. After a brief intro ‘Those That Wander Amidst The Stars’ flails in wildly chopping and smiting down all in its path. The good news is that there are proper vocals rather than just shamanic intonations this time around. Roman roars and roars and roars, gruffly and monstrously around the haywire musicianship which is a dervish of flailing guitars and other such atmospheric implements such as bellowing horns breezing in from the background. The productions is particularly beefy and listening to this on headphones is likely to knock your head off your shoulders. Tracks do not particularly stop and start but there are bridges between them courtesy of a light bit of ethnic, tribal drumming. Some of the guitar-work is reminiscent of Drudkh and the extremity albeit with the better production behind it of Hate Forest. However this does not particularly sound like either band but something completely different again, as if the members have forged new flesh from what they already practice.
A slower but equally heavy central structure sees the epic ten minute ‘Incantation Of He Who Sleeps’ brooding and bristling out of slumber. This is a craggy monster rising from the depths, summoned by mammoth horns which are like call to destruction. The atmosphere behind this is potent and portentous and if like me you have found Nile a bit on the stale side should wake you up and reinvigorate you to the warlike feel of their first couple of albums. Ploughing onward with a couple of shorter, devastating numbers this is like its predecessor not the longest album in the world but by the end of instrumental ‘Morbid Black Dreams Bringing Madness’ you really feel like you have been hit particularly hard and violently. Then there is a sinister cover of the already arcane Beherit classic ‘Gate Of Nanna’ so if you love extremity as far as I am concerned this album really does deliver on all fronts.
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