The underground of the global metal scene has been one of my favorite places to visit ever since I discovered it when I was but a wee lad searching for what metal had to offer. During my searches, I stumbled across Vacivus and ever since I heard their “Rite of Ascension” EP, I was unmistakably hooked from the beginning. It’s been quite a trip up to now, but now us peasants who’ve stuck with the band can now bask in their brand new album that is, without doubt, their darkest and most impressive opus to date.

This British quintet has been the very definition of up-and-coming for the realm of death metal in their country, and all sorts of culmination and anticipation have come to a definitive peak with this new mastery of the dark titled “Temple of the Abyss”. Vacivus has always been known for their raw take on death metal while still sewing a menacing evil throughout the contents and thus bringing forth so many extra layers in their style that makes what they play so much more than your generic death metal that we hear so wearily often, and the quality has only gone up with every release! To be perfectly honest, this release came as a complete surprise to me as I was expecting a little downtime since Vacivus’ earlier release this year, “Nuclear Chaos”, and planned on a bit of downtime. No rest for the wicked, however! “Temple of the Abyss” marks the return of a very entrancing formula taken to new heights, amplified by hypnotic riffs, everything from songwriting to production beings made ten million times better, and the sheer deliciousness of the entire record comes together so seamlessly that I can’t get over it! I’ve always known that Vacivus was a force that many had to hear, but this is fucking ridiculous. This album brings the brilliance that Vacivus has always shown flashes of amongst their gory presentation, and we couldn’t ask for a more perfect vessel to bring this to the masses than “Temple of the Abyss”.

I’ve always felt that waiting and being patient are the best ways to allow a band to truly mature and reach the level of success that we want them to, and I gave Vacivus that very same attitude with each release that I heard. To say that my patience paid off with monstrous results would be a fucking insult to this album. The Brits have always had an absolute menagerie of terrific bands to call their own, and Vacivus is easily another such group! “Temple of the Abyss” is an essential death metal album this year for anyone wanting to soak themselves in undeath, and I have a feeling that this could be one of the absolute best experiences of the style that we’re going to get all year!

LISTEN to “Temple of the Abyss” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Vacivus on Facebook here.