SACRED SON return in 2022 with a new album, "The Foul Deth of Engelond," a Black Metal chronicle of the 1381 Peasant's Revolt. Weaving historical record with speculative inversion, the album recounts this fierce and tragic Great Uprising as a proto-revolutionary moment in English history that echoes loudly into our own toxic and fragmented present. The story is presented as inspiration and allegory, with principal songwriter, Dane Cross, describing it as his ode to righteous leftwing political violence. The album contains five tracks.

"Pestilence" is the first cut. It's a very short instrumental, featuring mostly tense tones from piano and strings, seguing into the title track, which is a 13-minute opus. It begins with thick guitar tones and heavy drums. The vocals are harsh but not overly guttural or with the high pitched screams we often here in the genre. It plods along purposefully at first, taking a brief pause after the half-way mark, before returning with a renewed vigor.

"Le Blakheth" begins with more of that traditional Black Metal sound...a wall of guitars, thunderous drumming, and powerful vocals. It settles into a horrid groove reflecting the anger of the peasants who revolted against the Brits. When they cannot take it anymore, they rise up in defiance of the shit sandwich they are being fed. "The Boy King" begins with solemn guitars, piano and strings, before the stalwart announcement of a nameless boy who represents the revolt without shame, or regard for his life. The tones are joyless, but with a glimmer of hope that the rebellion might come to fruition. The song swells with anger and hatred and continues in this vein through completion.

"Vengeance I & II" closes the album. It opens with crows squawking and a slow and steady drum beat, with clean vocals. Following a few minutes, a hearty riff enters with harsh vocals. Tones of vengeance come through in the form of heavy, weighted accents from the guitars and drums, dropping to clean, acoustical sounds at the end. Overall, this was a solid listen from start to finish, and the music embodied the subject matter well. I appreciate the fact that the band was willing to deviate some from the tight genre boundaries of Black Metal, and interject their own personality into their music. I do wish however that the strings and keys came through stronger.Purchase Link:

https://sacredson.bandcamp.com/album/the-foul-deth-of-engelond