Lucifericon are a study in patience and poise. Founded in 2009, it wasn't until 2012 when the band's first public recording, The Occult Waters EP, reared its shadowy head. Although The Occult Waters was the band's debut, the seemingly "new" Lucifericon was actually comprised of a number of metal scene veterans, its members having done time as Destroyer 666, Pentacle, Malicious Dream, and Excision among others. Naturally, at this stage, the quartet deeply understood the Metal of Death and proceeded to offer a unique, more atmospheric twist on it. Four years later followed another EP, Brimstone Altar, to further critical acclaim. Here, Lucifericon's death metal was blackened to a crisp, its robust recording allowing every evil nuance to spill from the soundfield and further bewitch the eardrums. With that envious foundation judiciously set, at last arrives Lucifericon's first full-length recording, Al-Khem-Me. Tongue-twistingly titled but aptly so, Al-Khem-Me keeps apace with the developments of Brimstone Altar and further masters the art of the "patient payoff." Its blackened DEATH literally explodes from the very first seconds, but the band's songwriting builds detail upon subtle detail despite the obvious aggression employed. Utterly gnarled and gnarling, the lurch 'n' lunge across Al-Khem-Me creates a bewilderingly slipstreaming effect, dragging the listener into a distant, nameless vortex, but always with a keen knack for memorability. For above alll, this is METAL, unbending and unyielding, forged in fire and weilded as a weapon; it just so happens that Lucifericon's is one fully set on attack, its intensity steeped in the grand traditions of late '80s / early '90s death. With mesmerizingly detailed fully vertical artwork by none other than Adrian Baxter and rounded out by gutscrushing production, Al-Khem-Me heralds the grand arrival of Lucifericon!
