Get ready for 45 minutes of the most visceral form of old school Doom Metal made in Peru, dragging you to an eternal voyage into the most obscure side of your mind.

Formed in 2004 in Lima, the alluring capital of Peru, but not really kicking into recorded gear until a decade later, Doom/Death Metal act Antichrist soon released a steady stream of demos between 2014 and 2016, all harbingers of the colossal beast that was going to haunt our souls now in 2018, the brutally obscure album Pax Moriendi. Not only this is their highly anticipated debut album, but above that, it’s a piercing, funereal ode to the end of life as we know it. As a matter of fact, Pax Moriendi translates as “the peace of dying” from Latin, just to give you an idea of how lugubrious the whole album sounds and feels.

Across the 45 minutes of music split into five Stygian songs in Pax Moriendi, the listener is taken down into sewers a mile deep (or more), tweaking that immortal doom-death schematic into something righteously foul and filthy, but still well within the range of melancholic human experience. Led by the cavernous growls by lead singer and founder Agalariept, Antichirst are a true behemoth of darkness, blasting low-tuned, macabre sounds and tones that will reach deep inside your skin, bringing you venomous thoughts and, as a consequence, dragging you to an eternal voyage into the most obscure side of your mind.

Ominous, eerie sounds permeate the air in the opening track, darkly titled Forgotten in Nameless Suffering, where the duo Luis M. Guerra on drums and Manolo Zaren on keyboards create a truly phantasmagoric atmosphere, perfect for the deep, dark grunts by the band’s demonic frontman Agalariept. Furthermore, this song brings to you the most primeval form of Doom Metal you can think of, spiced up by orchestral elements in the background and, therefore, being highly recommended for your one-way descent into the pits of hell. Then their Death Metal side arises in brutal and somber fashion in Obscurantism, with Manolo slashing his guitar while bassist Gustavo Rodriguez makes sure our brains detach from our skulls with his low-tuned punches, with the whole musicality being nicely complemented by a whimsical, ethereal break. Also, in order to make things even more sepulchral, Agalariept fires intense, deep gnarls to the point he doesn’t sound human.

In the Dark and Mournful Corner is a flawless depiction of depressive, mournful and obscure Blackened Doom where Luis delivers those slow, sluggish and extremely evil beats, turning the song into some sort of evil mass, while Manolo not only burns our senses with his guitar but he also adds a touch of delicacy to the musicality with his keys. Moreover, it’s impressive how Antichrist alternate between old school Doom Metal and heavy-as-hell Death Metal so smoothly and effectively during the song’s gripping 10 minutes. After such demented aria, it’s time for a frantic display of aggression by Antichrist entitled Screams and Lamentations Drowned, with Luis smashing his drums while Agalariept barks and growls like a devilish beast, becoming a more visceral version of Doom Metal with its core essence reeking of putrid Death Metal. And You Will Never See Sun Light, the longest and murkiest of all songs, brings forward over 12 minutes of sluggish beats, hellish roars and uncanny sounds, with the ghoulish noises in the background making the whole song even more impactful and perturbing, flowing into a lugubrious ending led by the sinister piano by Manolo. Hence, if you survive this tenebrous aria, you’re indeed a true servant of darkness.

And as a servant of all things hellbound it’s your duty to follow Antichrist on Facebook and to buy your copy of the perilous and reverberating Pax Moriendi from Record Shop X, from the NWN! Productions webshop, from the Dark Descent Records webshop, or from the Invictus Productions webshop. Peru might not be known worldwide for its metal scene, but when you dig deep into the Peruvian underworld and find an amazing band like Antichrist, you know it’s time to surrender to the dark side of the “Land of the Incas” and crack your neck headbanging to such powerful display of old school Doom Metal.

Best moments of the album: Obscurantism and In the Dark and Mournful Corner.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2018 Iron Bonehead

Track listing
1. Forgotten in Nameless Suffering 8:54
2. Obscurantism 7:44
3. In the Dark and Mournful Corner 10:53
4. Screams and Lamentations Drowned 4:47
5. You Will Never See Sun Light 12:16

Band members
Agalariept – vocals
Manolo Zaren – guitars, keyboards
Gustavo Rodriguez – bass
Luis M. Guerra – drums