Sacrilegion are America’s latest death metal hopeful. Formed by Connor Carlson 2018 as a one-man entity, Sacrilegion blended the unorthodox nature of Edge of Sanity with the brutality of Intestine Baalism on demo The Pest Dialect (2018). Now a fully-fledged band with Carlson (vocals), Geronimo Santa Cruz (guitars), Ashton J. Childs (drums), and Alex Seolas (bass) making up the quartet, the Beehive Staters are readying to unfurl debut album, From Which Nightmares Crawl, via Mexico-based indie Chaos Records. Carlson nabbed a host of named names to assist in the sonic projection of Sacrilegion. He pulled in Horrendous’ Damian Herring (Ripped To Shreds, Suffering Hour) to mix and master, while Mike Jenks (Blood Purge) and Andy Patterson (Insect Ark, The Otolith, ex-SubRosa) were onboarded to record vocals and drums, respectively.
“Transfixed in Spiral Ambiguity” shows Sacrilegion’s quicksilver ascent. A blend of Carlson’s faves, the track slithers, strikes, and bites with American authority. But ‘neath the serpentine savagery lay clever melodic handling. This is present throughout “Transfixed in Spiral Ambiguity.” From the opening salvo to the ending crush, fans of Edge of Sanity and The Chasm will find nameless horrors and cerulean wonders at Sacrilegion’s sleight of hand. Of course, the killer aspect is the addition of Kenji Nonaka (Intestine Baalism, Another Dimension) in the solo, but don’t let that detract from the otherwise significant heft on display.
Say Sacrilegion: “‘Transfixed in Spiral Ambiguity’ showcases our more eclectic side. It is about Junji Ito’s horror masterpiece Uzumaki, and we tried to convey the feeling of his work not only in the lyrics, but in the music itself. From the dizzying tapping and strange rhythms, to the anguished and ever-changing melodies, and a guitar solo from Kenji Nonaka (Intestine Baalism, Another Dimension), ‘Transfixed In Spiral Ambiguity’ is a sonic labyrinth of bitter brutality and frantic melodicism; heralding the hopelessness and horror of the infinite spiral’s curse.”
