Black metal has changed and expanded so much over the past three decades (the last 10 years the most of all), that this style of music can barely resemble how it felt when Norway’s fiery revolt got under way and shaped the sound. More experimentation arrived, and bands took more chances, which made the style more unpredictable, but it still strikes hard when the roots are unearthed.

Mysterious U.S. black metal force Lucifixion could have been right at home in the early 1990s, and their debut full-length “Trisect Joys of Pierced Hearts” is one that could unite younger fans with those who have long complained about the rulebook being torched. Technically branded as raw black metal, these nameless ghouls add a dynamic element to that, which gives it a freshness and jolting electricity. This is a great sounding record, not one that comes off like it was recorded on cheap equipment and stereo microphones, which makes it more evident how violently devastating they are as musicians. It’s dark, imposing, and fiery, and every second of this thing rips with sadistic intent.

“Hammer of Fevered Lights” opens with tornadic guitars that mix up brains, and then the shrieks strike hard and shockingly, the maniacal energy coming off as both violent and disorienting. A tremendous section of guitar work rampages, something that’s a major factor on this record, and that fiery assault gasps its last and leaves you buried. “Howl, Thy Desolate Sound” unleashes punk-bloodied guitars and a sweltering energy, the playing decimating the senses and eventually turning dangerously fluid. Shrieks rip as the guitars bubble, the trudging pressure becoming a devastating creature, plastering you with nails and shrapnel, the fumes soaring into eternal flames. “Feral Mass” opens in noise before it begins a full decimation, the aggravated power turning into a devious force. Hellish intensity spikes as the humidity builds and makes breathing a challenge, the shrieks injecting its claws and reaching for organs. Channeled chaos punishes as savagery splatters, slowly slipping into the earth.

“Agony Fugue” is an instrumental piece with sounds welling, chilling synth making your flesh crawl, and unexpected serenity creeping before entering into “O, To Strike One Great and Final Wound on Thee Sum of Thee Earthe” that immediately combusts. Flames climb as hell enters earth, black metal ferocity unhinges its jaws and begins relentless consumption, and the pace continues to rampage. Howls curse as the tempo builds, making your blood race as you desperately cling to sanity. “Iron Outer Midnyghte” is the longest track, running 15:11 and immediately engulfing everything in its reach. Blistering speed tangles as the vocals blister and guitars rise, the bass plodding forcefully. The heat spreads and overcomes, dizzying power makes your anxiety spike, and the pressure hangs in the air, numbing before the playing crashes anew. Soloing blazes as noise bubbles, the chaos ignites, and the crazed force eventually cascades, washing into instrumental closer “Trisect Joys.” Thirsty rains, synth steam, and hypnosis combine, the guitars creating a thick steam that practically makes you lose consciousness.

Lucifixion’s primitive, barbaric black metal has far more flashes of glory than expected, and while they go for the raw aesthetic, they are far more dynamic than that on “Trisect Joy of Pierced Hearts.” The music has tenets of black metal’s feral heart and roots but also rises above that and creates something smothering and exciting. Our serving of black metal is overly generous as a whole, and bands such as Lucifixion find ways to add slashing fury and chaos to remind that this style can be a ferocious, mentally shocking art form when it’s done with this much focus and bloodlust.

For more on the band, go here: https://lucifixion666.bandcamp.com/album/feral-mass

To buy the album, go here: http://sentientruin.com/releases/lucifixion-trisect-joy-of-pierced-hearts

For more on the label, go here: http://sentientruin.com/