Over the years we have witnessed a lot of changes within the Metal community. From the rise of new Metal genres to the fall of pioneering acts - we have gone through hell and back. Yet when if we take a look at the advancement of specific and individual genres we can analyse the huge changes. Take for instance Death Metal. Whether you hate it or not, some of the newer Death Metal bands portray an act of jiggery pokery by playing saturated and layered guitar riffs repeatedly and thus hiding the true stylistic approach of a diverse genre. It's rather impossible to find an OSDM band these days. For those who live under a rock, Old School Death Metal a.k.a OSDM is one of the extreme genres that evolved from the First wave of Black Metal and Early Thrash Metal bands. In short, OSDM features Thrash metal riffs infused Black Metal Growls. That being said, if you are a mere explorer of this magnificent genre, you are in for a treat. SIGIL, an extreme Death Metal Act conceived in 2014, is probably one amongst the overlooked OSDM bands.

The band describe their stylistic inclinations as raw, crusty and Extreme-Death Metal. Often oversimplified as Blackened Death Metal, "Kingdom Of The Grave" is the band's debut album, which was released in 2017. The Entrance to the Kingdom of the Grave is through "Death Unreal". The sudden transition from a slow and sludgy intro to piercing blast beats accompanied by Traditional Blackened Death Metal growling is what makes this song so hard hitting; it completely utilizes the first minutes of a full length album to showcase how the rest of the album will sound like.

After the first song it is clear that this album is not a melodic one. "Even The Gods Will Burn" clearly addresses a strong message on Atheism - after all, they are categorised Darkened Death Metal for a reason. The appealing part if this song is towards the end when the guitarists try to brutalise the riffs they have used to create a bridge for a massive breakdown. Genuine guitar works continue as the song "Lick The Blade" showcases some of the face melting riffs that are destined to destroy anything in their path.

After going through some of the songs, the first thing that stood out is the remarkable tuning of the drums. The snare is neither too raw nor too polished, and stays at a relatively steady level while finely tuned bass pedal kicks compliment it on the neatly executed Blast Beats. SIGIL continue to haunt the listeners as the intro for the title track "Kingdom Of The Grave" starts off with a rather mysterious viola note that escalates the level of tenebrosity of the entire record. Arguably the best track of this album, "Kingdom Of The Grave" is what OSDM sounds like, and resurrects a genre that remained almost dead for a while. I appreciate SIGIL's effort in recreating it - even though being a relatively new band in the Metal scene.

Carrying the same powerful-energy, SIGIL unleash hell when the opening blast-beats of "Strange Aeons" reminded me of Darkened Hardcore-Punk, a genre that is about to cease its existence as there are not many bands performing it. Even though they can't be tied to the aforementioned genre, the starting notes reminded me of the infamous GEHENNA. There is a reason why I consider this song as the best one; the midway solo accompanied by the genuine drum work will blow your head off. Following the solo is one breakdown-ish guitar riff, which is relentlessly heavy.

"Kingdom Of The Grave" is for all those Old School Metal Lovers who adore almost everything that is kept original and raw. I'm not saying that keeping a record raw in terms of production hands a band success, but the way they made production Not so polished/Not so Raw is remarkable and appreciative. In addition to the OG fans this record captivates the Hardcore listeners, as the occasional "Fuuck..." rhymes leading to a short lived breakdown are quite brilliant.

From versatile guitar patterns to sensible drumming this record destroys every single Death Metal release of this year so far. Being a new band doesn't stop them from making an album that has all fair chances to compete with some of the major releases this year. Overall, SIGIL have done an excellent job and I will follow this band so as to keep on track with their future releases. This must listen album, if you ask me.