Triumvir Foul — Onslaught to Seraphim
Portland, Oregon's deadly duo, Triumvir Foul, returns with their third LP, Onslaught to Seraphim. Ripping and tearing, this grim death metal album captures the culmination of 30 years of death metal within its talon-like grips. Mixing doomy elements, vile tones, and intriguing pacing, Onslaught is an excellent illustration in the evolution of death metal.
Slowly unfolding with a synthy, stringed opening, Onslaught to Seraphim allows itself ample time to unfold. Letting the listener know that there is more to behold here than just straight up, fast, doom and gloom, the aptly titled "Presage" opens the door onto a death metal album that takes a few different paths to get to its end. The menacing vocal chants that appear over the opening drones definitely foreshadow the vileness on display, a feeling that certainly matches the dark and eerie cover art. There is a lot to take in on Onslaught to Seraphim, and not in the "everything but the kitchen sink" sense. Triumvir Foul have myriad influences, and this is very much on display on this record. Deftly paying tribute to old-school influences while mixing in modern styles, rhythms, and textures, the band pulls together an album that is both very comforting (y'know, in a vile death metal sense) and thrilling, as the duo continues to move in less than predictable directions. That's not to say this is an artsy, progressive approach, by all means it's the opposite, but it's well crafted and knows which twists and turns to take through the labyrinth. Percussively, the speed varies and helps to keep the listener on their toes, all while keeping tight to the tempos and rhythms. The guitars shred, squeal, and buzzsaw their way through slow, summoning riffs all the way to shredding solos, hitting many stops along the way. The vocals are grim, rough, and vicious, and definitely complete the mix.
Heavy and dark, Onslaught to Seraphim is a wonderful mix of old school influence with new school thinking. Taking the vile tones of yore and fitting them into a clever, well-paced album, Triumvir Foul have quite a rocker with their third LP. Out now on CD and cassette (with vinyl forthcoming), this is one that you can definitely judge by its cover.