Album Review: Vulpus – Certitude (Pest Productions)

The debut album, Certitude from Portuguese post-black metallers Vulpus, will be released on June 25th via Pest Productions.

Certitude begins with the sound of wind blowing over a massive expanse while a soft guitar melody plays out. Dysphoria heads into an oppressive melody (No More Shall I Seek Comfort Amidst These Piles of Rust) that has some evil sounding vocals. It’s a good start but when it picks up it gets even better. This is immersive & unique sounding post-black metal with slight elements of doom too.

Certitude is filled with fantastically expansive guitar sounds but has no qualms about throwing out some serious heaviness too. Like Troxler’s Fading is a harder & faster song with some intense drumming. It’s utterly brilliant, the riffing is out of this world & the shouting, distant vocals are really memorable. The drop into a strumming guitar & lighter drum beat before one final eruption is the icing on the best cake ever.

It’s an album that gets the hair on the body standing up. Very heavy but with lots of rhythm.

Even when not firing on all cylinders, Certitude is still far superior to many other post-black metal offerings. Vulpus aren’t content with keeping themselves boxed in. You’re never quite able to relax into the album, something always changes but in a positive way. Vulpus are a serious set of talented artists.

Along Obsidian Shores continues the trend of fantastic, immersive metal. It’s fast, furious but with bag loads of rhythm. The production on this album is pure class. Unexpectedly it drops into soft melody & it might be the most spectacular moment on the entire album. The melody is to die for & the drumming is amazing. Unbelievably great.

One of the best albums of 2017 ends on the lengthy Hell is Truth Seen Too Late. The ambient horror style noises build anticipation & it gets darker & darker sounding. Imaginative & an unexpected way to finish off Certitude. An incredibly satisfying finish.

Vulpus – Certitude Full Track Listing:

1. Dysphoria
2. No More Shall I Seek Comfort Amidst These Piles of Rust
3. Like Troxler’s Fading
4. Certitude I
5. Certitude II
6. Along Obsidian Shores
7. Hell is Truth Seen Too late

Certitude is out June 2th via Pest Productions & you can order it via Bandcamp. Check out Vulpus over on Facebook & Twitter. You can also listen to a couple of the tracks over on YouTube & SoundCloud.