Sempiternal Dusk – Cenotaph of Defectuous Creation (Review)

This is the second album from US death metallers Sempiternal Dusk.

Following up on 2014’s enjoyable self titled debut record, Sempiternal Dusk’s new album contains 37 minutes of doom-infused death metal. It’s rotten and foul, just how we like it.

The music is resolutely old-school, and drips with authentic character and macabre atmosphere. Mid-paced bludgeoning carries most of the material relentlessly forward, interspersed with slower, crushingly heavy sections, and occasional bursts of blistering speed that feel like violence given form. Powered by the drummer/vocalist of Mournful Congregation/Nightfell, he provides a powerful backbone to this monstrous creation. His vocals are deep and guttural, sounding like you could fall into his cavernous maw.

An aura of darkness, woe, and hideous apocalyptic disaster hangs over the music like a pall. Sempiternal Dusk know how to use atmospheric worldbuilding to craft songs that absorb and entrance the listener with visions of the end times. Across a range of different song lengths Sempiternal Dusk take the listener down into a tour of the bowels of the underworld. Well-written, well-delivered, and fiercely expressive, Cenotaph of Defectuous Creation is impressive and highly enjoyable.

Cenotaph of Defectuous Creation is a strong improvement on Sempiternal Dusk’s debut album, improving and refining the band’s delivery into a force to be reckoned with. My only complaint is that I wish they had given us more material! Regardless, what is here is very compelling and satisfying. Make sure you check this out.