For years, a dark, arcane force to be reckoned with has been brewing in the ancient lands of Egypt. This mystifying power has been growing in the obscure world of underground Egyptian extreme Metal since 2018 and has been refining its sound since its first demo release in 2019. Hailing from the unlikely region of Asyut, LYCOPOLIS opens their vortex of chaos to us once again, as they deliver their first full length album "The Procession". Coming from such a Muslim and conservative land, one can only imagine the stigma and persecution one must face when creating such evil sounding Black Metal and thus, this 3 piece outfit wishes to remain anonymous. When the ancient Greeks came to what is now known as Asyut - a Sebennytic nome of Lower Egypt, they named the city Lycopolis, meaning City of Wolves.

Drawing much inspiration from such old-school works of DARKTHRONE, SLAYER, IRON MAIDEN, and BLACK SABBATH, these Black Metal titans flawlessly blend Arabic and Egyptian scales with the icy-cold riffing style of such trve Swedish and Norwegian second wave Black Metal.

This album opens up with a trudging mid paced instrumental intro, recorded using traditional Arabic scales and live, lo-fi recording techniques. Filthy bass leads the charge as the guitar solo blesses your journey and sends you off to battle. This intro sets the mood perfectly for track 2: "Tamarisk" - which erupts into clangorous blast beats and clamoring, tortured shrieks; shining overtop Middle Eastern riffs that thrash salaciously before disintegrating into frosted tremolo. The sound this band has created for themselves sounds like if MELECHESH and DARKTHRONE had a love child. The sound is raw, arid, sorrowful and angry. Very impressive to note, that this band is only one of 2 Metal bands to ever emerge from Asyut, are new to the craft of Metal musicianship, and are only just starting out. This album holds great potential for what may be yet to come in the future.

Another cool track on the album is "Lord Of The Necropolis". Basing most of their lyrics around Egyptian occultism and history, this song is referencing the god Wepwawet. Wepwawet was an integral part of royal rituals and would guide the pharaoh into battles, as well as the dead through the underworld before they meet final judgement. Wepwawet was the primary god of ancient Asyut. In this track, Phrygian dominant riffing leads the charge at a marching militant tempo before rollicking double bass takes over and gives way to more shimmering tremolo. The structure is pretty basic verse/chorus type stuff but is certainly catchy none the less. It's even a tune sexy girls could strip to.

Last but not least, my favorite track on the album might have to be "Who Goes Up From The Horizon". A title which definitely sounds like English is not their first language. Clocking in at 5:57 and being the longest track on the album, this song certainly delivers the goods and breathes hope to what to expect on future releases. This track is a mild departure from previous songs, beginning with a sombre atmospheric intro which continuously builds into what sounds like a beautiful tribute to the second wave European scene; all while maintaining that iconic, thrashing Egyptian sound. Complete with tight blastbeats, drum-fills, and cruel cymbal abuse. The guitars paint a cacophonous sandstorm of warfare which bleeds into the same atmospheric riff that set the tone at beginning before slowing down to halt and concluding the album.

LYCOPOLIS deserve much more recognition than they currently have. This release is by far their best material to date and is not something to skip over. Any fan of MELECHESH, or any other Egyptian/Middle Eastern Black Metal should definitely hear this record.