Apocalyptic visions are something that might not be just be for science fiction novels anymore. How shocked would you be tomorrow if you saw fire breathing across the sky, the entire earth burning, and total annihilation at hand? OK, look, you’d be a little shocked, but when you got your grip, you’d realize this isn’t that surprising.
I thought about that on my numerous visits with “Reign Destroyer,” the debut EP from Samiarus, a black and death metal machine that feels like it’s ushering in the end. On this punishingly heavy seven-track effort, the band—vocalist M.A., guitarists J.L. and S.R., bassist G.D., drummer J.M.—unleashes complete battery, feeling like a grinding machine moving toward you as an act of war. The music would be fitting playing in your mind as the sky melts onto the earth and planet is scorched for good. By the way, while a new band, its members bring experience from extreme acts such as Doomsday, Atrament, Slaughteruin and Abstracter, themselves rather devastating forces.
“Praesagium (Intro)” starts with noise enclosing, strange synth, and voices swirling in a miasma, leading into “New Iron Age” that starts with drums obliterating and a mauling pace swallowing you whole. Animalistic howls and a bulldozing grind unite and quake the ground, infernal heat making breathing unmanageable. Guitars go off as burly hell is achieved, smearing gaping mouths in soot. “Torment’s Spear” crushes outright, the playing drilling heavily, thick guitars landing in burning sheets. Growls choke as the force lays waste, amplifying pressure before mercy finally comes. “Eradicating Wind” bathes in feedback as a bludgeoning power front barrels in, menacing fury defacing, the leads charring as the growls punish. The band then completely destroys, ashes accumulating, the guitars blackening the sun. “Throne Devoured” has riffs firing, howls warping, and the tempo bruising. It feels like being locked in an unforgiving storm with nowhere to reach for help, shrapnel and debris turning into killing tools. “Crushed by Inferior” carves in with cagey guitars, a suffocating assault, and a maniacal pace that leaves prone bodies flattened. The snarling vocals devastate as utter brutality stomps toward you, melting out with utter carnage. “Exitium (Outro)” is a blaze of horrific noise, a nightmarish level that makes your brain feel like it’s under extreme duress, your mind crashing into total darkness.
Samiarus bring utter annihilation on “Reign Destroyer,” an EP that, despite its shorter run time, makes you feel like you’ve been in a goddamn fight. The fiery, hellish approach to black and death metal is unforgiving, a display that feels like it purposely is here to add insult to injury. This is a monster, a sign of the black storms coming for us when they put together a full-length and a glimpse into a deadly machine that’s just getting started.
For more on the band, go here: https://samiarus.bandcamp.com/
To buy the album, go here: https://sentientruin.com/releases/samiarus-reign-destroyer
For more on the label, go here: https://sentientruin.com/
Meat Mead Metal 