LORDS OF THE CEMETERY is a duo out of France, one of my current favorite Death Metal capitols. However, I like France for its progressive and technical output. Nevertheless, Lords of the Cemetery might have just released one of 2018's best Blackened Death Metal albums.

Technical, melodic, and unpredictable, "Path of Damara" hits the listener with relentless force and never stops delivering riffs and solos of epic proportions. In fact, I would go far as to say that the material presented here is original to some extent. The riffs, standing alone, are not very original. However, Lords of the Cemetery is a band that actually know how to structure a song, giving the music depth and flavor. In fact, there's something new and interesting around every corner. Take "Le supplice du feu" for example. The riffs are fast and abrasive, and they usually come out of nowhere, but they're still transitioned into. The unpredictability of this album is definitely one of its strongest suits.

There are some really cool interludes on here like on "Dysmorphic Human" and "Reborn in the Vault." In fact, the majority of the songs on here have some sort of evil, atmospheric piece that reminds me of early MORBID ANGEL or DISSECTION. Another thing that's nice about this album is that it's short. I love short albums. Sometimes I think that's why I'm so fond of Brutal Death Metal. It's heavy and it comes in small doses, making it more listenable. Sure, longer albums have more material, but it's harder to listen to them on repeat. Shorter albums are ones you can just listen to again and again. The listenability factor is even better when the album is good, and, in this case, it is good, making it enjoyable to listen to again and again.

The production of this album is the perfect balance of raw and polished. It's raw enough to give the music a gnarly sound and polished enough so that the listener can hear everything. Overall, this album has my attention. It has me wanting to hear more from the very start. The passages are all sequential and transition well into each other. The riffs are simplistic, yet very effective. The solos are epic and melodic. The songwriting is almost impeccable. Lords of the Cemetery have released one hell of an album.