Produced by Seba Puente, “Christus Venari” is the fullest, foulest display of INFERNAL THORNS' all-too-considerable powers. No longer hidden in the shadows, the band's third full-length boldly and brazenly conveys what's been simmering for so long - that INFERNAL THORNS are the near-perfect symbiosis of northern black metal melody and southern death metal ultraviolence. The album has nine songs, and “Death Chants” is first. The super aggressive sound is indeed a combination of Black and Death Metal, but falls closer to the Death Metal side for me. The pacing is scorching, and the band slams down the gas pedal and doesn’t let up. “Christ Distressed” is another chaotic affair that hears the band shift through so many different passages, the wheels nearly fly off the bus. Somehow, they maintain control, but consider that loosely.

“Black Flesh” is another song that breaks the sound barrier, and the band shows no sign of letting up even a bit. The drums roll with machine gun accuracy, and the fast-picked guitar riffs shift more times than tectonic plates. “Implore Me” hears the once partially angled landscape of the music melt into liquid, and from there, it is pliable. It shifts back and forth between these two states throughout the song. “Profane the Mass” is really the first song where the foot isn’t held down on the gas pedal like an anchor weight. Instead, it develops slowly, with evil, and other harrowing elements. Of course, when the beast rears his head, look out. “Finis Incipiet” storms forward with a surge of heavy surf, almost as if a tsunami is behind it, swallowing everything in its path.

“Officiate Lapidation” burns the path in front of it and reduces it to dust. The guitar solo is blistering as well, and again, the structure seems loose, but the band has full control. “Illuminated by the Flames” is the final song, and also the longest; eight minutes is pretty long for the genre. The band fills it fairly well however, with some nifty meter shifting, and an overdose of riffs…even more than you can count. Overall, this was a good listen for me. It didn’t break down any barriers necessarily, but you have to marvel at the band’s talent for pulling off so many tight passages without missing a bit. And, to boot, it’s plenty hard and aggressive.