Ledo Takas Records present two young bands from Lithuanian black metal scene: Argharus and Luctus. The two are different in their sonic violence, yet they are both influenced by old school black metal. Let's take Luctus first, as they are the first band on this split album.

Luctus take extreme measures. The intro to 'World of Blades' portrays gearing up for war. And war is what Luctus serve: Very fast-paced thrashing black metal with intense, biting and metallic sound. At times they slow down to headbanging tempos, which are vital for the flow in the music, in my opinion. Luctus's riffs are aggressive, ripping, yet catchy, but nothing too original, and they also flirt with "pagan" melodies at times. But then again, what is original these days? Anyways, Luctus have found their own small niche. While sound is clear, it's partly too machiney, especially the drums. But if you look it from another way, the machiney sound fits for Luctus's cold-sounding hate. The lyrics (5 out of 6 songs in English) are about war, sometimes in a patriotic way, and hatred towards religions and religious. Their part ends with sounds of war. I think we'll hear more from Luctus in a short while, as the battle towards religions is still going on.

Argharus have more Nordic, especially Norwegian, tinge to their black metal. The sound is more organic and archaic than Luctus's, but hatred is on same level. Pulsing rhythms and penetrating riffage. Argharus perform in their native language, so I read from the letter which accompanied the album, that "they claim to de-emphasize the cult of life, to deny the canons of Western moral, and to represent the evil side of man". Argharus offer pacewise varying material, and definitely memorable riffs and compositions. But it is impossible to call Argharus original and this is what make Argharus a smaller band when compared to the greats. But they are a young band, and still they got more into them than a million and one other contenders do. The vocalist's multifaceted performance is one of the highlights, together with eerie atmosphere of it all.

However, 'Sonitus Caeli Ardentis' serves its purposes well. It shall offer some great moments for a listener of black metal. While the bands' outlets are dissimilar, the package is still coherent enough. If you are looking for some new blood in black metal scene, then this is a good release for you to inspect.

Rating: 6½ (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
04/06/2007 23:54