It won’t be long until we’re neck deep in the darkest, most ghoulish of seasons as the temperatures cool, and skulls and skeletons dot lawns as we await Halloween. Yeah, it’s overly commercialized, but that time period still lets the darkness and morbidity leak out into the public, scaring weird religious people.

Catalonian death metal horde Sanctuarium feel like the proper band in which to indulge with this time approaching, and their gut-removing second record “Melted and Decomposed” provides the right stench and chills to keep the spirit of the dead, um, alive. Over five tracks and a rumbling 48 minutes, the band—vocalist Carlos, guitarists Necrohelm and Gusi, bassist Ferran, drummer Agus—spills some chilling doom into their nauseating mix, pulling in time-honored traits to create a new spirit prepared to haunt in these times. All the horrors aside, the record also is ideal for anyone who thirsts for doom-drenched death and always is looking to overturn stones to find forces they haven’t discovered yet into order to freshen their collection. This is ugly in the best ways.

“Abhorrent Excruciation in Reprisal” opens in strange waters, keys slithering, growls caking through doomy tides. Sooty and crushing, things get heated and heavy, dizzying and slurring through muck, blistering as the playing heats up and increases the pressure. The drums punch harder as the guitars glaze, everything ending in shockingly abrupt manner. “Exultant Dredge of Nameless Tombs” starts with stuttered drums and filthy howls, guitars tangling as the heat continues to rise. Things then barrel at a glacial pace, scraping over the earth and defacing what’s underneath, a molten fury amplifying the temperature. Force drubs as the tracks throws its massive weight around, sounds hissing as the guts dissolve.

“Phlegmatic Convulsions” buzzes, growls churning, the pressure slowly settling as the growls gnaw flesh. Hypnotic leads make your head spin, dirty and blistering, causing your entire body feel like a viral host. Guitars burn as the cries echo, staggering and bruising as the final blows land hard. “Sadistic Cremation of Emaciated Offal” is slow-moving doom, bruising and mauling, turning bones into dust. The growls engulf as the leads take off, blackened filth smeared into mouths, the drilling fire producing blood. Closer “The Disembodied Grip of Putrescine Stench” dawns with disorienting heat, the drums punishing as the guitars bend in the face of sorcery. Fires stoke as the guitars liquify, the pace lurching and stretching, the speed suddenly becoming a factor. The playing intensifies and makes your blood race as the terror slowly dissolves into cloudy synth, a murky soundscape swallowing everything whole.

Sanctuarium certainly conjure a musty, dank atmosphere on “Melted and Decomposed,” so much so that you might feel like wiping non-existent cobwebs from your face when it’s finished. This is doom-infested death played the way it was originally intended, keeping your face in the ground and your mind swirling over the most horrific ideas you possibly can imagine. As the winds gets colder and the days grow darker, it’s the perfect time to indulge in this ugly creation that will pull you deep into its grave alongside the worms.

For more on the band, go here: https://sanctuarium.bandcamp.com/

To buy the album, go here: https://www.mesacounojo.com/shop/sanctuarium-melted-and-decomposed-lp/

For more on the label, go here: https://www.mesacounojo.com/