PROJECT ULTIMATE SATAN were formed in 2021, and they are from Canberra, Australia. They are a symphonic Blackened Death Metal band, and release their debut full-length album. “The Opus Satanas” was mixed and mastered by Gibb Tartaris. The album has a length of about 42 minutes, and it was released via Australian label Eschatonic Records, which have many Black and Death Metal bands among their current roster. The album has a powerful and grim start with “Symphony Es Infernus”. After a short cinematic introduction, the blackened Death attack is immediately at full swing with blast-beat thunderstorms, thunderous guitar riffing, and chilling melodies provided by the orchestrations in the background. The female and male vocals perform often together as a duet, where the female vocals are around the medium end of the vocal range and the male vocals are growls which vary between the deep and medium end of the guttural range. “Symphony Es Infernus” is in principle like a mini-opera with several parts, and hence, the song structure is complex with many twists and turns in tempo and rhythm. “Humanity’s Last Breath” starts with another cinematic intro leading into a blast-beat attack accompanied with screams from the abyss, and on top of it, the female vocals. The guitar riffing is still a bit in the background during the first part but becomes more prominent alongside the orchestrations as the track goes on. It is a frantic track for most of the time driven by the relentless blast-beats. The melodies are blood-freezing throughout the track and intensified by the strings and a choir contribution halfway through.

“Humanity’s Last Breath” is another mini-opera and does not follow traditional verse/chorus song structures. Highlights of the track is the drumming and the male vocal contribution. Both drive the track forward.  “Humanity’s Last Breath” is with almost 10 minutes one of the longest tracks and one of the album highlights. “Is This How Freedom Dies” starts with devastating guitar riffing, double-bass drumming, prominent orchestral arrangements delivered by the strings, and a spoken word part. It transitions into a track, where the guitar riffs and both vocals lead the track at various rhythms. The female vocals become more and more prominent as the track goes on, even though the male growls have the final say in this track. “The Infallible Void” starts with punishing riffs and a spine-chilling melodic framework. It is again a track with many different parts, divided by a short acoustic instrumental play. The second part is very aggressive with the riffing, the growling vocals, and the blast-beats, while the third part starts relatively quiet with the female vocals but becomes more and more hammering and darker by including the spoken words, the male growls, and the male choir. The sound delivered by the guitar riffing and the combination of double-bass and blast-beats is at times in the background. Both the riffing and the drumming remind me on the BEHEMOTH era of the 2000s. “The Infallible Void” is the official video release, and the YouTube link is provided below.

A recurrent feature of the album are the spoken word parts at the beginning of the tracks and “Footprints In The Sands Of Time” is no exception from the rule. The track is a continuation of the grim album sound consisting of the devastating guitar riffs and the BEHEMOTH-esque drumming, which is joined by both vocalists. The female vocals introduce some oriental vibes into the track. Both vocalists perform a duet for most of the time, where the female vocals are more prominent. The orchestral arrangements are notable in the background, and they provide the orientally inspired melodic framework. Nick Crawley (PUNISHMENT) plays additional guitars in this track and in the last one. The album finishes with “Nocturne Immortalis” and this track is the one where both vocalists take centre stage and move the track forward accompanied by flesh-ripping guitar riffs, the hammering drums, and the orchestrations. Although the riffing and drumming is monotone for long parts, the track is driven by many rhythm changes, however, the vocals are on top of things throughout the track. The song finishes with the very rare occurrence of a lead guitar solo.

PROJECT ULTIMATE SATAN deliver their debut album, and it is an interesting and a promising one. “The Opus Satanas” is a musical works in six parts. All parts are well-thought through compositions in terms of song textures, guitars, bass, drums, and vocals. The melodic framework is grim, the guitar riffing is punishing most of the time, and the drumming is a 40-minutes hammering. Both vocalists sit on top of all this and give the tracks an extra dimension. There might be still some room for improvement for the orchestrations as their contributions could have been and should have been more prominent at times. The album is well produced. Blackened Death Metal fans who love it complex and are not afraid of some experimental twists will love the album. The start of the journey of PROJECT ULTIMATE SATAN is exciting and I am sure there is more to come from them.