On November 8, 2019, EVANGELION released "Sacro Macello," their debut EP. EVANGELION is a Swiss melodic black and doom metal project of the eponymous vocalist. Evangelion had begun conceptualizing the music and lyrical themes way back in 1998. He had even completed a few songs by 1999. However, due to the scarcity of musicians in his area and commitments to other bands, he was not able to realize his vision until recently. Aside from Evangelion, this album also features session musicians Ainga on guitars and bass and Dominik on drums. EVANGELION's influences of second wave black metal and doom metal can be heard in their music. Though the production is not as raw as early black metal, the cleaner production suits the more melodic music.

The opening track is "Sacro Macello," which is broken into three parts: "The Bells of Tirano," "The Sacred Butchery & the Creation of the Avenger," and "The Doom of the Chalice-War." The song is started by the titular bells of Tirano. They are pleasantly melodic and a nice brief introduction to the story this EP tells. What I believe to be the next part of the track begins immediately after the last bell tolls. The main black metal riff is melodic and memorable. Combined with the desperate and pleading growls of the vocalist, this is my favorite part of the album. What stands out to me is that the bass is audible. Its low growl rounds out the track. Part III of the opening track begins with more tolling bells. This part of the song leans towards doom metal. The soaring clean vocals are reminiscent of early epic doom. Completing this homage is the doom laden and slow riff.

The second track is "Signum Sanguis." It begins with a fast-paced and evil riff, complemented by the drumming and subterranean chugging bass. Towards the middle of the track, jarring guitar notes ring as a voiceover recites a passage. Afterwards, the fast tempo and riff continues, though the vocals switch from only growls to growls layered under operatic clean singing. I rarely hear this sort of "duet" being used, which is a shame; because I think it is a striking technique. The third and final track is "Proclamation," which is entirely instrumental. It is a good epic closer to the mood set in the album. However, at 6 minutes long, it can be a bit repetitive and takes up a good chunk of the album duration.

Overall, I recommend this album to fans of melodic black metal in the style of DISSECTION or UNANIMATED. The instrumentation and songwriting is solid. The album is a fine first offering from EVANGELION, and I look forward to hearing a full-length release in the future.