Ultra Silvam – The Sanctity Of Death

With a thundering bass as well as the tolling of sinister church bells, the Swedish maniacs Ultra Silvam kick off their much anticipated second album “The Sanctity Of Death”. The opening track “Dies Irae” really shows right of the bat that these guys haven’t slowed down their pace nor creativity since the debut record “The Spearwound Salvation” from 2019.

With the forementioned masterpiece being a true monolith of savage black metal, I really had high hopes for “The Sanctity Of Death” and it doesn’t take a long time of listening to realize that Ultra Silvam has created yet another future classic.

The second track “Sodom Vises Himlafärd” (Ascencion Of The Wise Of Sodom), is probably my favourite song of the album. It has, in my opinion, a strong feeling of old school Watain, somewhere around “Casus Luciferi” or “Sworn To The Dark”. Vile riffs and hauting melodies in perfect combination alongside a optimal production, which really captures the Ultra Silvam vibe of somewhat controlled madness.

After the title track, the instrumental intro “Tintinnabuli Diaboli”, takes us further to the “fist in the face” attacking malice of “Förintelsens Andeväsen Del II: Den Deicidala Transsubstantiationens Mysterium” (sorry guys, I’m not even going to try and translate this one). This is also one of my favourite tracks off the album and I must say that there are a lot of high quality stuff to choose from. Ultra Silvam has really managed to write a very diverse record, without it feeling fragmented in any way.

Also the following tracks, “Black Soil Fornication” and “Incarnarnation Reverse”, are both personal favourites of mine. They combine everything from perfectly stupid caveman riffs to the more intellectual driven melodies of Dissections finest moments, although a bit more punk perhaps. The closing song “Of Molded Bread And Rotten Wine” ends the album in a great way, even if I have a bit of a hard time focusing on anything else than the fact that one of the riffs sounds so much like the Swedish folk song “Vem Kan Segla Förutan Vind?” (Who Can Sail Without Wind?).

In just over 30 minutes Ultra Silvam show just exactly what black metal is all about. It is in no way only about the music in the usual way, regarding chords, rhythm and whatever you associate with music in a classic manor. It is about the feeling of the music and Ultra Silvam are one of few bands these days, that I really get a true experience of genuine evil from. The music sounds in every way as it was composed by truly sinister madmen and that is precisely what this genre should always be about.

We are now living on a planet with a world wide pandemic and are heading for World War 3, fast. If we are still alive at the end of the year, “The Sanctity Of Death” will be a dangerous contender for album of the year. If not, it’s a perfect soundtrack for the end of days if you are like me and want to blast brilliant black metal while witnessing impending doom and the extermination of mankind. This is black metal magic in its truest form.

Hail to death, hail to Ultra Silvam.

https://open.spotify.com/album/6buNgkPi8YsuLnXbnoXDya?si=fVARlg_XTAuayqnBcZW79w