Album Review: Saqra’s Cult – The 9th King (Amor Fati Productions)

Emerging from the black swirl of Brussels dead city, Saqra’s Cult was founded by G & S, respectively drummer and guitarist. Their goal was to recreate a Black Metal entity based on acts such as old Mayhem, Leviathan, Xibalba and Katharsis.

Ater a few rehearsals they were joined by L and A, whom were already playing in a band with S before. This resulted in the recording of their first demo, Initiation to Forgotten Rites. Followed by their first full length ‘Forgotten Rites’, recorded at Blackout Studio in 2017. Both were released through Amor Fati Productions.

G. then chose to leave the band but remains part of the identity of the band as he is responsible for all the artworks and takes part in the lyrical and writing processes as often as possible. He was at that point replaced by J who is now doing bass guitar as L, is playing drums and A is on vocals.

This brings us to January 11th 2019 and the release of The 9th King via Amor Fati Productions.

You gotta love that The 9th King begins with incoherent shouting that echoes around as if we’re in some dark, huge and empty crypt. It’s an unusual start to the title track but it quickly devolves into a cesspit of black metal corruption. Frantic heaviness assisted by howling vocals, fans of an old-school black metal sound will feel very comfortable here.

Thankfully the layered darkness throughout the four tracks helps give Saqra’s Cult a more unique sound. They deserve much praise for making Endless Devotion sound so clean even in the face of such chaos.

The unrelenting crashing of noise is far more appealing then you might expect and it’s mightily impressive that the band are able to sustain it throughout. Both Legends of Pururaucas and Last Denial do an incredible group of cementing Saqra’s Cult as a force not to be trifled with.

Saqra’s Cult – The 9th King Full Track Listing:

1. The 9th King
2. Endless Devotion
3. Legends of Pururaucas
4. Last Denial

You can order the album via Amor Fati Productions here and find out more by checking out Saqra’s Cult Facebook Page.