Band: Ultra Silvam
Country: Sweden
Album: The Sanctity of Death
Label: Regain Records
Website: Facebook
The way I found out about this new band, since I had completely missed their debut album The Spearwound Salvation when it was released in 2019, was through an interview with Misþyrming frontman D.G., where he highly praised them. At the same time, they are touring together now and also at that time, which was when I realised that I should be checking more closely all the bands the Icelandic giants tour with, as they are probably aligned with my tastes perfectly. The same way, I discovered the exceptional Ardens Fvror by Vortex of End, another gem of 2019.
When listening to The Spearwound Salvation, one can conclude a thing or two. First of all, fresh blood is definitely needed in the scene, as the energy and thirst of these youngsters is undeniable. Secondly, once you dismantle the genre and especially the frenetic Swedish style, you can reconstruct it with your vision and create something unique from the same, pure elements. Ultra Silvam were highly successful with a well-weighted debut that stands tall and proud on straightforwardness and ruthless black metal pragmatism, achieving a sound I will call unique, within its non-interest in experimentation. As the band got busy touring, we finally have their second instalment The Sanctity of Death, which is cleaner on the one hand, but even clearer and more direct on the other. Which basically means, win on both fronts.
One immediately notices the cover aesthetics, the album title and the fonts, reminiscent of infamous anti-religious bands from the country that we all know and love. The equally profane track titles show Ultra Silvam's intentions, at the same time very quickly separating them from basic bands that use ugly words just to sound insulting. The stench comes across the headphones when listening to this, in a way that a lot of their compatriots would wish to accomplish. The Sanctity of Death balances the furious metal madness with discrete elements of heavier focus on melodicism here and there, hints of groove in some spots, wonderful vocals and the most characteristic element of the band: these endless, thunderous, scourging guitar lines.
It's only reasonable to draw comparisons with like-minded bands in black metal, but it's only because they fit well with each other conceptually. Above all, I enjoy Ultra Silvam's own sound and explosive tracks like "Incarnation Reverse" or "Dies Irae", with the latter also featuring some epic cleaner vocals in its ominous choruses. Commanding guitars also lead the blistering self-titled track that is a clear highlight for me, in an album full of enjoyable moments and unfiltered passion for the music. The Sanctity of Death (direct anti-placement for the so called sanctity of life, a very common topic of discussion within religions) also features a rather complicated track in the band's native language, with the longest name of "Förintelsens andeväsen del II: Den deicidala transsubstantiationens mysterium", which shows a slight turn towards more purely English material, as The Spearwound Salvation was almost half and half between Swedish and English.
Another success. It's often frustrating to go through a lot of bands that don't even try and don't deserve our times, it happens to me more often that I would like to admit, that I turn of an album after one and a half song. Ultra Silvam come around with a record you can enjoy full, packed with melody and heaviness, interesting turns and once again, no shenanigans. The Sanctity of Death deliver's the band's characteristic approach and shows several signs of evolution, while still remaining very close to the core of their material as it was defined in their debut, and has been pre-defined by other Swedish black metal bands of the same mindset. With Ultra Silvam, we have another child to add to this family.
Release date: February 25th, 2022
Tracklist:
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