(((O))) : Austerymn – Sepulcrum Viventium

Released on April 25, 2015 via Memento Mori / Dark Descent Records (US)

I like Austerymn. I’m glad some bands are still carrying the torche for old-school death metal, which saw a resurgence a number of years ago thanks to bands like Horrendous and Morbus Chron. While those aforementioned bands have diverged from their original OSDM sound, bands like Austerymn still try to recapture some of that 90’s death metal magic out of love and little else. It’s not like this sub-genre sells out stadiums after all. You can expect bands that do OSDM and do it well to do so purely out of a love for the music.

Austerymn don’t do anything new on latest album, Sepulcrum Viventium. Sure, they tweak the riffs here and there to freshen said riffs up a bit, but their material still hardly sounds new. They combine a penchant for catchy songwriting and memorable riffwork to win over listeners who might still want this 90’s nostalgia. Sepulcrum Viventium is catchy death metal with tinges of early tech death band Iniquity’s Five Across the Eyes during the latter’s simpler segments.

The leads are well-done, echoing while the band breaks it down some. The vocals are proper death metal croaking. The drums keep time nicely. No crazy fills, no sweep-pick-arpeggio-until-armageddon-play-this-if-you-can bullshit. Check out track four, ‘Bleeding Reality’, for an album highlight. Play that and just try to refuse headbanging along.

Hard to pick a highlight track to be honest, as this album is fun from top to bottom. Track seven, ‘Living Grave’, features a main riff that absolutely pummels out of the gate and then drops out as two guitar solo segments take center stage. Track eight, ‘In Death…We Trust’, sounds so familiar it’s like that old death metal explosion all over again. Track five, ‘Excarnation’, absolutely sends the pit into a whirling dervish of devastation.

For fans of that 90’s style death metal that want a modern production and absolutely zero guitar wankery, this is your cup of tea.  Sepulcrum Viventium is a full-length album released on CD, meaning OSDM fans who want more than two tracks on an EP worth more money can get more bang for their buck by buying this.  Memento Mori is responsible for letting this rotten corpse get out of the cemetery, so come in droves and support this stinking OSDM faeces. This is sure to get those old, rotting, Lamb of God soaked earlobes creamy with death metal decomposed bodily fluids. Forget modern death metal bands with extra-terrestrial artwork adorning their album covers. Support good OSDM albums. Go out and get Austerymn’s Sepulcrum Viventium. Now!