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Album Review – Invocation / The Archaic Sanctuary (Ritual Body Postures) (2024)

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This ruthless Chilean horde returns with more of their “Ritualistic and Hypnotic Black and Death Metal”, canvassing past, present, and future in their first full-length offering.

At long last, nearly a decade after their formation, Valparaíso, Chile-based Black/Death Metal horde Invocation are unleashing their first full-length opus, beautifully entitled The Archaic Sanctuary (Ritual Body Postures), the follow-up to their 2020 EP Attunement to Death. Recorded and mixed by E. Brisso at Equinox Studio, mastered by Dan Lowndes at Resonance Sound Studio, and displaying a Stygian artwork by Abomination Hammer, the new album by Sense of Premonition on vocals and guitars, Sense of Clairvoyance on bass, and Sense of Clairaudience on drums offers us all more of what the band likes to call “Ritualistic and Hypnotic Black and Death Metal”, canvassing past, present, and future and fittingly framing it with another gritty analog recording rich with sulfurous fire and sepulchral echoes.

Extreme aggression and obscurity flows from all instruments in Ecstatic Trance, where you can sense the fumes emanating from the deep roars by Sense of Premonition, who’s also infernal armed with his stringed axe, followed by The Serpent of Faardal, just as hellish and grim as the opening track, with the rumbling sounds blasted by Sense of Clairvoyance and Sense of Clairaudience showcasing a spot-on balance between Death and Black Metal. Opium Thebiacum (Somniferum) again presents the darkest elements of Black Metal while Sense of Premonition’s primeval gnarls exhale old school Death Metal; and it’s pedal to the metal as the trio will crush our cranial skulls to pieces in Metamorphosis, a vile, demonic attack where the hammering drums by Sense of Clairaudience sound truly evil.

The band shows absolutely no mercy for our rotten souls in Horn of Colima, again blasting sheer Black and Death Metal madness through the scorching riffs by Sense of Premonition and the thunderous, low-tuned bass by Sense of Clairvoyance, and there’s still a lot of fuel to burn, starting with The Psicopompos, offering more of the band’s trademark extreme sounds, with Sense of Clairaudience stealing the spotlight with his unstoppable blast beats. There’s no sign of the trio slowing down or playing any type of mellow music; quite the contrary, they offer the sulfur-infused aria Venus of Laussel, another blast of the underground led by the gruesome vociferations by Sense of Premonition, whereas last but not least the trio will evoke the powers of the underworld in Hypnosis, sounding absolutely harsh, raw and demonic.

It was only a matter of time before Invocation delivered a debut album to capitalize on the massive potential they displayed on their short-lengths, and with The Archaic Sanctuary (Ritual Body Postures), they now can enter the hallowed ranks of fellow cult countrymen Force of Darkness, Slaughtbbath, and the sorely missed Hades Archer, among others, for standard-bearers of classic South American madness. Hence, if you want to feel that metal madness flowing through your veins, you can find more about the band on Facebook and on Instagram, stream their music on Spotify, and above all that, purchase their sulfurous newborn spawn from their own website or from their BandCamp page, inspiring Invocation to keep spearheading the Chilean underground with their endless rage, blasphemy and heaviness for all eternity.

Best moments of the album: Ecstatic Trance, Metamorphosis and The Psicopompos.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2024 Iron Bonehead

Track listing
1. Ecstatic Trance 3:49
2. The Serpent of Faardal 3:31
3. Opium Thebiacum (Somniferum) 3:54
4. Metamorphosis 4:07
5. Horn of Colima 3:57
6. The Psicopompos 4:17
7. Venus of Laussel 4:52
8. Hypnosis 5:36

Band members
Sense of Premonition – vocals, guitars
Sense of Clairvoyance – bass
Sense of Clairaudience – drums

Album Review – Invocation / Attunement to Death EP (2020)

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Let this vile and demonic breath of Ritualistic and Hypnotic Black and Death Metal from the infernal pits of Chile reach deep inside your damned soul.

Forged in the fires of Valparaíso, Chile in 2015, Black/Death Metal horde Invocation is unleashing upon humanity a sulfurous and absolutely obscure EP entitled Attunement to Death, the follow up to their highly acclaimed 2016 demo Seance Part. I and their 2018 EP The Mastery of the Unseen, offering fans of extreme music a short but fulminating blast of what the band itself likes to call “Ritualistic and Hypnotic Black and Death Metal” in the form of six original compositions. Comprised of Sense of Premonition on vocals and guitars, Sense of Clairvoyance on bass and Sense of Clairaudience on drums, Invocation reached a hellish harmony with their classic South American diabolism with Attunement to Death, while at the same time imbuing it with a deeper and more unique aspect that bountifully displays their authentic grounding in the occult, setting the tone for a very promising and infernal future for such talented band.

Ominous, cryptic noises permeate the air in the opening track Oppression, a phantasmagorical intro that will drag you to the pits of the underworld before the trio begins blasting their instruments mercilessly in Flying Ointments, exhaling pure evil and heaviness, and with the gruesome vociferations by Sense of Premonition being complemented by his own demonic riffs and Sense of Clairaudience’s intricate and sulfurous beats. After such demented start to the EP, scorching riffs and rumbling, metallic bass lines dictate the rhythm in the also Stygian and infernal Divine Transition, presenting a solid fusion of the darkness of Black Metal with the raw sounds of Death Metal, offering to our avid ears pure devastation in the form of music from start to finish, without of course a single second of peace just the way we like it in extreme music.

A putrid roar by Sense of Premonition kicks off the Death Metal extravaganza entitled The First Mirror, showcasing a great sync between Sense of Clairvoyance and Sense of Clairaudience with their respective bass punches and beats and fills, resulting in a true headbanging tune that lives up to the legacy of the genre. Then get ready for over seven minutes of obscurity and rage in The Officiants, where the classic riffage by Sense of Premonition gets even more impactful accompanied by Sense of Clairaudience’s infernal drums, whereas its vocals couldn’t have sounded more disturbing and visceral. And last but not least, Invocation summon all creatures of the dark in their most detailed and devilish creation, the heavy-as-hell Secret Tongues, uniting elements from Black and Death Metal in the name of evil. In addition, its guitar sounds will certainly darken your mind, while Sense of Clairaudience continues to crush our skulls without a single drop of mercy in this multi-layered aria that sounds absolutely ritualistic.

In a nutshell, while Invocation (hopefully) get ready for their debut full-length opus in a not-so-distant future, there’s a lot to savor in their brand new EP, which as already mentioned might be short in duration but reeks of violence and obscurity. Having said that, simply let the dark and demonic sounds blasted by this awesome Chilean horde penetrate deep inside your soul by following them on Facebook and by purchasing your copy of Attunement to Death from the band’s own BandCamp page, from Record Shop X, or from other locations as soon as the album is officially released in February, celebrating all things evil in the name of our good old Black and Death Metal.

Best moments of the album: Flying Ointments and Secret Tongues.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2020 Iron Bonhead

Track listing
1. Oppression 0:56
2. Flying Ointments 5:05
3. Divine Transition 7:46
4. The First Mirror 5:06
5. The Officiants 5:29
6. Secret Tongues 6:29

Band members
Sense of Premonition – vocals, guitars
Sense of Clairvoyance – bass
Sense of Clairaudience – drums