Album Review: Sacred Son – The Foul Deth of Engelond (True Cult Records)

Sacred Son return 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 left-wing political violence.

The Foul Deth of Engelond will be released on May 13th, 2022 via True Cult Records.

An expansive take on an interesting subject, Sacred Son have the tough task of transporting the listener into the stories they wish to tell. All through the medium of black metal.

It’s tough because of modern attention spans and the urgent nature that brings with it. Will people really be able to picture and feel what The Foul Deth of Engelond offers? Will they be able to take it as an allegory and imprint what they see, hear and feel today, upon it?

A short intro called Pestilence leads to the first gargantuan effort, the title track. Where the weight of Sacred Son’s bleak and harsh black metal sound comes crashing down upon the soul. Where darkness creeps into the mind and you can’t help but feel despondent at how little we’ve learned and how utterly depressing the country, nay the world, has become.

With this one track, Sacred Son accomplishes the task they set out to do and the detail across its length is simply immense.

There’s so much more to experience though and with Le Blakheth, Sacred Son double down on the speed and intensity. Before shifting the tone to something more monotonous but something abhorrently heavy. Back and forth it goes, delivering a different kind of atmosphere but one that encapsulates the misery Sacred Son are expelling.

The Boy King then sees Sacred Son build up melancholic melody to a grand state, eventually unleashing a torrent of black metal abuse at the point where you just feel like you can’t take any more. The relief felt is momentarily palatable but then you’re assailed with a cacophony of heavy noise on par with everything Sacred Son has delivered so far.

Finally, it’s Vengeance I & II to end this marathon of an album. Where, likely, most will be sitting with their attention fully focused on how Sacred Son choose to close out the story.

The expectation is more of the same, so it’s something of a surprise to get a droning melody and softly sung vocals to introduce the track. A sense of ancient times, the feeling of calmness, the morose tone… it’s in keeping with Sacred Son’s varied sound but few won’t deny that they’re waiting for an explosion of grim blackness. It comes, oh does it come. No amount of groundwork can help prepare you for the callous and cold direction this track takes.

An accomplished release that won’t make you feel good but will bring inordinate amounts of pleasure, especially if you like your black metal to sound as dark as humanly possible.

Sacred Son – The Foul Deth of Engelond Full Track Listing:

1. Pestilence
2. The Foul Deth of Engelond
3. Le Blakheth
4. The Boy King
5. Vengeance I & II

Links

Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | True Cult Records