On their third full length, French death/black metal band Skaphos have managed to use the best elements of the two extreme styles and honed their sound while retaining enough rawness. The impactful songwriting enhanced with a touch of dissonance doesn’t hurt one bit. They have released not one but two official videos so far which you can find in this email. You can listen to all the songs on Bandcamp AT THIS LINK.
“Cult of Uzura” sees the dedicated French death/black metal band Skaphos fleshing out their sound on their third album – first on a label – to become more expressive and impactful than ever before. At this point, their proficiency is undeniable and their sound is a beautiful rendering of the two extreme styles, spiked with mean dissonance and steeped in an aura of mysticism. The execution remains ruthless and forceful despite showing subtlety in the emotive passages and deftness in the tempo changes. The gnarly death and black metal rawness is palpable even after having their disparate elements congealed on this album and the sound is more powerful than can be conceived for an album having this level of expression. In addition, the alternating contrast of chunky riffing with acerbic parts creates a lasting impression on the listener. This is a remarkable album in the death/black metal style that has actual substance along with the right aesthetics and sound.
For fans of: Mgla, Crypts of Despair, Obscureviolence, Behemoth, Dead Congregation, SaevusFinis, Shrine of Denial, Belphegor
Line up –
Stephan Petitjean – Guitar & vocals
Jeremy Tronyo – Guitar & backing vocals
Theo Langlois – Bass & backing vocals
Nathan Faure – Drums
Artwork by Paolo Girardi
Track listing –
1. Cult of Uzura
2. One Eyed Terror
3. Mad Man and the Sea
4. Hypoxia
5. Abyssal Tower
6. Echoes of the Drowned
7. Of Shores and Dripping Souls
8. Skaphism
9. The Servant
10. The Alchemist
11. The Offering
12. Diluvian Sentence
13. All Shall Be Now Itself the Sea
Release date – May 9th, 2025