This is an adrenaline junkie’s wet dream. 

The New Jersey-based necromancing death metallers Sentient Horror break bones and summon the dead on their grueling new album, Rites Of Gore (Redefining Darkness / Testimony). 

It takes but mere seconds before Evan Daniele’s menacing drumming kicks off the record and descends proceedings into anarchy. Matt Moliti at times sounds like Corpsegrinder on the microphone, grunting and growling his way through the 10 tracks with aplomb. It’s a forceful delivery that beckons any fan of the genre.

In other words, Rites Of Gore is a perfect replacement for my morning coffee. 

‘Descend To Chaos’ is gritty throughout and manifests into a planet-shaking riff. The title track includes a blistering, thrashing guitar solo full of impressive finger gymnastics. It also weaves and jukes through a labyrinth of death metal and vivacious drum lines. ‘Splitting Skulls’ is thunderous in its riffing and marvelous in its soloing, a brilliant combination, if you ask me.

‘Swamp Burial’ – actually quite a strong depiction of what it feels like listening to Rites Of Gore – sees Daniele’s drums on the loose, stampeding and blitzkrieging into oblivion. ‘A Faceless Corpse’ reeks of old-school with its tremolo, haunting howling.

Overall, the production is exactly what it should be – disgusting. There is a blanket of dust and muck that covers this album in its entirety. However, it still manages to maintain its integrity. 

Since the band’s inception in 2016, Sentient Horror have unleashed a record every three years, a promising schedule, especially since the quality hasn’t faltered one bit. It’s the brand of death metal in which you can put on with confidence and excitement: you know what you’re getting, and it hits you in the face like a freight train.

Proceed with caution.

Buy the album here: https://testimonyrecords.bandcamp.com/album/sentient-horror-rites-of-gore

8 / 10

MATT COOK