Sentient Horror – Rites of Gore
Release Date: 22nd April 2022
Label: Testimony Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Old School Death Metal, Death Metal.
FFO: Witch Vomit, Endseeker, Wombbath, Paganizer.
Review By: Andy Spoon
New Jersey’s Sentient Horror have stormed back after the global pandemic, which claimed the livelihoods of tens of thousand of metal musicians, with their latest offering, Rites of Gore, an old school death metal romp with sonic roots in the Florida scene as well as Sweden, perhaps. Their third LP is meant to be their most polished, but brutal thus far, so say Sentient Horror, who teamed up with Testimony Records for production and distribution for Rites of Gore. From a fan of the genre’s standpoint, it all works absolutely well enough to put Sentient Horror in the mix for one of the better OSDM releases all year thus far.
Immediately, we are greeted with that buzzsaw guitar sound in a slow, doomy type of intro for several measures, followed by an assault of quality old school death from the Swedish school of Death. The drums are restrained, holding off using tech-y blast beats and extreme speed to employ simple 2/4 timing to bring out that hardcore/grind influence that was the original death metal “drum sound”. Fans of old school death are generally extremely enthused by the nature of the guitar rhythm, as breakdowns and metric chugging are usually not conducive to the overall sound. Sentient Horror absolutely understood the assignment, allowing the riffs to control from the bottom of the neck, not relying on squawky leads or howling pinch harmonics to control the entirety of the sound. The guitars are low, growly, and chunky, but certainly “riff-centric” in the rhythm section, something that brings out the innermost joy in death metal fans.
Nevertheless, lead guitarist and vocalist Matt Moliti’s guitar solos, when called upon, are cutting, well-placed, and brief (relatively-speaking), in order to avoid taking too much flow from the track’s overall structure (The best example on Rites of Gore, track 4 or Descend to Chaos, track 6). It never ceases to amaze me how so-many bands will chop up a well-structured track with a harmonic-laden masturbatory solo that goes on 2 measures too long. No such musical offenses can be found of Rites of Gore, thankfully.
Vocally, Matt Moliti’s chops are classically OSDM with a great blend of growl and drama, matching the overall tonal quality of the music section. I didn’t find myself tiring of it or looking for more variation. Moliti’s technique is varied enough to lend itself to the listener’s enjoyment through each track. While it doesn’t vary out of the scream/growl vocals, Rites of Gore doesn’t have any places where it really ought to have done so, making the vocal style, just like the guitar mix, absolutely consistent through the entire album, to the LP’s benefit, as it all works remarkably well together for all 9 tracks.
Look for some good headbanging moments in Descend to Chaos, Obliteration of Souls, and The Eyes of Dread as drums and guitar meet up for a few pseudo-breakdown moments that make any respectable listener want to windmill their long locks. Track order and listing brings no objection, as everything seems to flow and move between tracks well. There aren’t any lulls or low spots that require any specific planning or manipulation to “make work.” Largely, Rites of Gore is unrelenting in its pace and heaviness, making it a great listen for the background as well as intensive concentration. There’s enough chainsaw guitar to take you to Swedish Death heaven, if that’s your thing. The album is short enough to avoid the “chainsaw fatigue” that many listeners could get with some death and doom albums. 
(4 / 5)
