The ancient Roman and Etruscan god of purification, cleansing, and the underworld is back with its sophomore album, sounding just as fascinating and eccentric as one would expect it to be.

After releasing an astounding debut in Surveillance Orgy in 2023, Höör, Sweden-based Progressive Death Metal entity Februus (the ancient Roman and Etruscan god of purification, cleansing, and the underworld) returns with a sophomore album that is more mature and consistent, yet just as fascinating and eccentric as one would expect it to be, entitled Construction of Conflict. Mixed by the band’s sole member, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Andreas Karlsson, mastered by Mattias Persson, and showcasing a wicked, striking artwork by Daniel Karlsson, the album is more compact and effective without losing its expressive power. There are no 15-minute songs on this one. Most of them in fact happen to last for just around five minutes, and Andreas and his Februus make sure that they’re nonetheless packed with plenty of deviations and surprises that are of more varied textures and moods than before.

Andreas kicks off his demented extravaganza with sheer force and insanity in Genocide by Default, offering wicked riffs and blast beats with tons of progressiveness and heaviness, followed by Measures of Escalation, keeping the momentum going with the striking Progressive Death Metal riffs and vociferations by Andreas sounding piercing, demented and vibrant from start to finish. Then an ethereal, enfolding start morphs into sheer madness and experimentations in Suicide by Proxy, with Andreas delivering his trademark scorching riffs nonstop for our total delight; while The First Limb Is Cut carries a poetically harsh title for another blast of Progressive Death Metal by Andreas, with his killer riffs and blast beats punching us hard in the head.

The Misery That Awaits the World is another song with a caustic, powerful title that offers a more introspective side of Andreas, warming us up for Fueled by Narcissism, exploding into absolute chaos, insanity and violence to his demonic guttural and crushing drums, presenting an amalgamation of sounds, tones, breaks and passages not recommended for the lighthearted. Andreas then showcases his own blend of Dissonant and Progressive Death Metal in Scavengers of the Forgotten Poor, firing nonstop scathing riffs while his roars sound absolutely evil; and ending the album we face the multi-layered Suppressing the Future, which kicks off in total violence before morphing into a whimsical sonority, and finally morphing again, this time into sheer doom.

With the release of the dynamic and multi-layered Construction of Conflict, Februus remains as one of the most interesting Swedish Death Metal bands today, always having a trick or three up its sleeves, while maintaining a deceptively rough, clamorous demeanour. In other words, if you’re a fan of the fusion of heavy music and sheer insanity blasted by bands the likes of Edge of Sanity, Pan.Thy.Monium, Demilich, Disharmonic Orchestra, and Defect Designer, just to name a few, you should definitely give Februus a try by streaming its idiosyncratic music on any platform like Spotify, and by purchasing Construction of Conflict from the project’s own BandCamp, as well as from the Transcending Obscurity Records’ BandCamp, main store, US store or EU store. Don’t forget to also follow Februus on Facebook and on Instagram, and who knows, maybe after such an amazing album the project will morph from a studio project into a live beast, taking your city by storm sooner than you can say “Februus.” Construction of Conflict is certainly not an album for the average listener, but a venomous creature ready to penetrate deep inside your skin, consuming your mind and soul, and leaving you in a cathartic state just the way we like it in Progressive Death Metal.

Best moments of the album: Genocide by Default, The First Limb Is Cut and Fueled by Narcissism.

Worst moments of the album: The Misery That Awaits the World.

Released in 2026 Transcending Obscurity Records

Track listing
1. Genocide by Default 5:25
2. Measures of Escalation 5:11
3. Suicide by Proxy 5:45
4. The First Limb Is Cut 5:02
5. The Misery That Awaits the World 2:07
6. Fueled by Narcissism 5:50
7. Scavengers of the Forgotten Poor 5:47
8. Suppressing the Future 5:27

Band members
Andreas Karlsson – vocals, guitars, bass, drum programming, synthesizers