OKKULTIST are back! This Portuguese Blackened Death act, born in 2016, followed a year later with their debut E.P. release, "Eye of the Beholder", then in 2019, followed with their debut full-length release of "Reinventing Evil", now on the horizon with their second full-length "O.M.E.N".

The first track I want to discuss is the four-minute opening piece "O.M.E.N. (Omnis Malum Et Noceo)", which opens with introductory whispering vocals and a bewitching atmosphere -followed suit by the opening of the organ (later back by Ritualist drum beats) and a gathering of coven summoning incantation chants. In contrast, the last minute of the piece turns into a group of monks chanting with the toll of sacrificial bells and the bringing of death.

The next track I would like to discuss is "Blood On Satans Claw". The fourth song on the record, which opens with a distortion guitar riffage and full-throttle rhythmic aural battering of the drums -follows suit with a surge of instrumental aggression and demonic snarls; when hitting the one-and-a-half-minute mark of the song, the atmosphere sweeps in with melodic passages of the guitar, bell tolls and a build-up of instrumental surge.

The next track I'd like to talk about is "Demonic Warfare", the fifth track, with a short virtuoso guitar shredding intro, followed by instrumental work of fast-serge and relentless guitars and batting of the drums, not forgetting the sick and mouth-watering snarls. Finally, the following two pieces I need to discuss are track eight, "Sixpounder", which is a cover/tribute to CHILDREN OF BODOM, and what a killer and brutal cover of the piece and a tribute to the band and the late Alexi Laiho. Finishing off the topic with the following and closing ten-minute track, "Crimson Ecstasy", which again is a brutal onslaught of guitar-driven riffs and drum strikes and the delivery of those demonic snarls -when the listener reaches the three and half minute mark, the tempo goes for a mid-pace, and rhythmic chord shredding solo with the drum rolling with strikes of rhythmic battering -follow suit at the four-minute mark, the piece goes dead... until the last minute of the track, the music atmosphere transcends into a strange (unsettling) instrumental and ghostly vocal atmosphere.

"O.M.E.N", in my opinion, is a full-length that's heavy and brutal -yet melodic, fast and dark, with its progressive guitar passages and its sweeping melodic sections, the full-throttle rhythmic aural battering of the drums and adding an atmosphere of Occultist/Ritualist (which I love) within the music. And not forgetting about those powerful and dark snarls provided by Beatriz Mariano - I do love a female vocalist who can pull off excellent vocal work, and Beatriz Mariano hits all the marks for me with her demonic snarls. Even though the artwork is pure evil, it fits well with the music.
 <