HLADOMRAK is a Black Metal band from Stockholm, Sweden. "Archaic Sacrifice" is the group's third full length album, released by Non Serviam Records on September 10, 2021.

This is a good Black Metal album. Brutal vocals, blast beats and dissonant melody lines abound. Evgenerator's riffs go from chugging, thrashing madness to tremolo-picked minor chords almost instantaneously. Talon's singing style takes cues from legendary vocalists like Tom G. Warrior and Attila Csihar of CELTIC FROST and MAYHEM, respectively. Dipa's bass playing is tasteful, not standing out in the mix with unnecessary flash but providing a rumbling, thunderous backbone for the intense music that is littered across this album. Finally, Nils Fjellström's drumming is perfect for an album of this ilk: fast, booming, and simple yet effective.

I also need to commend the production on this album. Of course, Black Metal production has gotten a lot better since the early days of BURZUM and DARKTHRONE, so it is hardly surprising that this album sounds really good. However, this album is almost mixed like a thrash album. The riffs are much more articulate and easier to discern than most Black Metal records. Additionally, while the record certainly doesn't sound super dry, it also doesn't sound like everything is drowned out in reverb, especially when you listen to the drums. As a result, "Archaic Sacrifice" might be among one of the best sounding Black Metal records I've ever heard.

Some highlights from the track listing include "Asterial Well," which has a string-bend riff in it that immediately called forth the song "Procreation (of the Wicked)" by CELTIC FROST in my mind; "Wistarbor," which is an evil, yet super groovy number; "I Zinew," which begins sounding like what would happen if LAMB OF GOD decided to wear corpse paint before breaking down into classic THORNS-esque insanity; and "Fozforos Insignia," which, I contend, might be one of the most intense album openers I've ever heard.

Overall, this is a decent album. I don't have much else to say for it, though. It doesn't really stand out much other than that the production is fantastic, and the song writing is good. If you're a mega fan of Black Metal, I can guarantee you will like "Archaic Sacrifice."