SAEVUS FINIS is an Portuguese extreme metal band who have appeared out of some dark corner of a forgotten dimension to give us a stunning debut full length album in the form of "Facilis Descensus Averno." From my very limited understanding, the band’s moniker means “the savage end” and the album’s title translates to “descent to hell.” Honestly, those translations work in going a long way to describing this band’s insane sound.

Their brand of death metal is dissonant and dense as what I can only imagine is the chaotic pain levels should a person descend into a nightmare realm such as hell. But it is also more than that, and even better. As much as I love dissonant music, it sometimes tends to blend together or even get a bit too weird in moments. "Facilis Descensus Averno,” is an album that manages to keep each song distinct from one another, at least enough to keep engagement high the entire time. The band is insane and their music, while still definitely a mind fuck, is very tightly focused and avoids being stretched beyond where it needs to go, trading weirdness for outright brutality in many, many places. And if that wasn't enough, the band incorporates a heft amount of black metal into their deadly arsenal as well.

It isn’t just the songwriting, however, that makes this beastial vessel such a tortured experience. The production/mix/mastering is exactly on point as to what this band needs to present such a hellish, nervous, and harrowing atmosphere. The music sounds rushed without actually being rushed…..like it is constantly on the edge of something even more unsettling. The album opens with “Scourge of Humanity” and my brain immediately begins to conjure up some terrible type of situation where humanity is being reduced to zero by the results of creatures unknown to science and incomprehensible to the mind.

The riffs feel bottomless, the bass being especially on another level. Even when the band is at it full speed ahead, their sound never thins down on its suffocating sound. The dissonant aspect flash among the notes like a flashbang going off. It is a good kind of disorientation because what is around the corner is never truly known—this song, much like the album as a whole, is constantly fresh and exciting even though the feelings resulting from the assault are absolutely terrifying.

The dissonant grooves of “Though Hast Destroyed Thyself,” is a limbonic dance of the undead. The drumming is a sharp, constant bombardment that pushes the sound forward by acting as a focal point for the music but also letting it feel loose enough that it doesn’t seem limited to any one movement. The drums and riffs, especially near the end, rattle the senses with the way they hammer nonstop yet are laden with psychosis; this song really did a number on my brain.

The album grows more vicious and depraved as it goes along. “Overrun By Pests” is a swarm of murky riffs highlighted by drumming that somehow manages to be eerie and vocals that are not unlike the dying gasps of a ghoul.The later half of the song takes a slower approach, a doomy dissonance that is truly without light. “Corporeal Malfeasant” is a song that sounds as pained as it does otherworldly. It has a creeping and creepy tempo…the music just sort of sprawls out around you. The crazy deep growls near end are nearly unfathomable.

“Corpse of Hope” is one of the more straight forward death marches on the album. Despite its more straightforward approach, it carries the atmosphere and tenaciousness of the songs before while setting up for…the insanity that is the title track. This is a massive song with riffs and dissonant bleakness layered upon each other. The pressure is immense and after the song ends, it feels like a great weight has been lifted. SAEVUS FINIS appeared out of nothingness, drenched in the Profane arcane but this album leaves a mark that commands instant respect. Simply put, "Facilis Descensus Averno" is a stunning debut album.