CANTU IGNIS hailing from Longmont, Colorado were formed in 2019. The symphonic melodic Death Metal outfit release their sophomore album “The Fathomless Dominion”. The album has a length of approximately 37 minutes, and it is an independent release. No official video has been released yet. The album starts with an atmospheric, tension-building symphonic intro, leading into tight guitar riffing at mid-tempo. The vocals are growls and are mostly around the higher end of the guttural range. The highly pitched screams have lower growl background support at times. The track is a mixture of mid-tempo and measured tempo, driven by the guitars and a lot of double-bass drumming. The melodies are dark and orientally inspired at times. The track has many different features and breaks, for example there is an instrumental break starting just with the guitars delivering neo-classical melodies. The break transitions into a part at insane pace, driven by a blast-beat thunderstorm leading into a contributing lead guitar solo with melancholic melodies. Some of the album tracks are pretty long, and “Survey The Sun” has a playing time of more than eight minutes. “Buried Planet” starts frantically at crazy pace, leading into a mid-tempo verse part. The growls are again highly pitched screams but with additional deep-lying growls during the chorus parts. The guitar riffing is devastating and accompanied by crunching basslines. The melodies are classically inspired, most notable during the break and the first lead guitar solo. During the break, symphonic arrangements are added, but very much in the background. There is a second lead guitar solo, which is a bit more direct than the first one.

The title track starts with powerful guitar riffing supported by the keyboards. The track is a mixture of fast parts and mid-tempo parts. The verse parts include thunderous riffs, accompanied by the double-bass, and the keyboards. The melodies of “The Fathomless Dominion” are catchy at times. The highlight of the track is the extended and very contributing lead guitar solo. “Within The Mind Of Hell” starts with an acoustic guitar intro, leading into a verse part at blistering place with punishing guitar riffing, constant double-bass and blast-beat attacks, and orchestral arrangements that are quite prominent at times. The arrangements provide some extra darkness to the track. The chorus parts slow down to a measured tempo and the melodies are epic. The lead guitar solo contributes to the track during the final third only, while it does not fit perfectly into the melodic framework during the first part of the solo. “Into Obscurity” is a mixture of fast parts driven by tight guitar riffs and plenty of double-bass, mid-tempo parts, and parts at a measured tempo with thunderous guitar riffs and epic melodies. The melodies are dark and melancholic at times. The lead guitar solo is at its best and contributes excellently to the track with a few classical vibes. The album finishes with “A Reality Deceased” starts with punishing guitar riffs, a series of blast-beat attacks, and epic and melancholic melodies. The orchestral arrangements are notable and prominent at times with the strings being the main contributor. The track has a few different layers, twists and turns, but always finds it way back to the main melodic theme, which has, once again, some classical inspirations. “A Reality Deceased” is a crushing track despite being put in a strong melodic framework, and the track is one of the album highlights. It is definitely a good way to end the album.

CANTU IGNIS deliver an interesting and promising second album. “The Fathomless Dominion” is not the mainstream melodic Death Metal album, it is different. It is melodic Death Metal at its core, but with added symphonic arrangements now and then. The melodies are dark, melancholic, and epic at times, and most often classically or neo-classically inspired. The counterparts of the melodic framework are the hammering drums with plenty of blast-beats and double-bass and the growling vocals and both give the album additional dimensions. The album is well produced. Death Metal fans, who love it melodic and who love classical melodies, will love what they hear, and CANTU IGNIS may have found a niche in a crowded melodic Death Metal market.