Cultum Interitum – Sacrum Funeral

Sacrum Funeral is a materialization of the funeral psalms, released by a Polish horde going under the moniker of Cultum Interium. The 12″ vinyl was released at the end of 2023, in a collaboration with Godz Ov War & Necroeucharist Productions, as a limited edition of 222 copies. The opus is done between 2018 and 2021 and it’s professionally created, with two color versions, black inner sleeve with some of the lyrical content printed, and other necessary information about this particular release. But, before we dig a little deeper and explore this particular release in depth, let me introduce the guest & session appearances on Sacrum Funeral; M. Ptah Smrt (vocals on 3rd and 4th track), N (additional vocals on 5th track), Nimerius (guitars on 5th and 6th track) & Grief (album intro and battery foundations on 5th and 6th track).

Talking of an intro by Grief, it’s a nice and short yet pretty muddy and murky opener “S”. The whole album contains only six compositions, but it feels as each piece is a kind of act or ritual. Thus, Sacrum Funeral is less than half an hour long vinyl, of extremely muddy black and additional death metal. The tracks are titled appropriately with a single letter, so they collectively spell out the word ‘Sacrum’. The pattern and overall nature of this whole release continues on the second track “A”, with no melodies or catchy inventions. It’s rather a manifestation of the black/death metal sound deeply rooted in the 1990s. Meanwhile, I don’t think it’s necessary a bad thing, on a contrary – if you like dirty, moody and atmospheric (ominous, threateningly inauspicious, dark and gloomy atmospheres) black/death metal, this is a perfect choice for you. Third track “C” is another perfect track that is very representative of their trademark sound; with some merciless, bonecrushing and punishing sounds, created by raging and wheezing guitars, deeply pulsating bass and punishing and merciless drum assaults. The remaining tracks from the opus are following same structures and almost similar build-up of each of the six offered compositions. Having said that, you need to give the closing anthem titled “M” a mandatory listen, mainly due to its unbelievably hellish and suffocating sounds. Often in life, all good things are worth waiting for, and it this case it came at the very end of this journey, with the most stand-out track on this pretty solid record.

With the release of Sacrum Funeral, this Polish angry horde reminded us once again what black/death metal sound back at the end of last century, and they did so with repetetive blasphemous spells that this band was always known and feared for. I see no reason why they shouldn’t continue to do so in the future. This six-tracker album may not be tailored for novices within the genre, but if given the right time and repeated spins, you will find immense enjoyment in these occult dark and black pieces.

There’re certainly some extreme metal bands out there that don’t care about current scene trends, and Cultum Interitum is definitely one of these acts. They’re just following the path, and proven patterns, they chose at the very beginning of their musical adventure, and Sacrum Funeral should be seen as a continuation of this journey full of uncompromising old-school unpleasant black metal blended with some elements of death metal. Some would probably claim that the guys from Cultum Interitum don’t offer anything new or innovative, and they might be partly true, but on the other hand, I see no reason for changing the style and their approach to songwriting just for the sake of change. One knows what to expect when pushing the ‘start’ button, and therefore you’ll get what you’ve asked for! Esp. recommended for fans of Profanica, Necrovore, Demoncy, Possessed, Watain, Vomitor and similar dark, twisted and occult acts.

At the very end of this review I would like to once again Necroeucharist Productions (a fairly new black/death label from Switzerland) for sending this interesting latest opus by these Poles. For additional information on this particular release visit https://cultuminteritum.bandcamp.com/album/sacrum-funeral