Welcome to my review of Malefic Necropolis by Sidious. Before this review, I’d only heard a few songs by the band, never fully immersing myself in a full album. So today was nice, having the chance to dedicate myself to a full playthrough.
So firstly, let’s talk a little about the artwork. As someone who has a deep-rooted love for visuals, it’s of big importance that the album cover grabs the listener’s attention. With Malefic Necropolis, it instantly made me really focus in and hope for big things. I now keenly follow the artist of said album cover, who is named “Stefan” (s_khs_ on Instagram), who I then discovered did the album cover for another band which I actively follow, called Cultus Profano.
My favourite track was for sure track 6, “Crows Atop the Gallows”. The opening riff, along with the groovy 4/4 beat, go hand in hand. Black metal bands which have parts in their songs that explore a slower beat always catch my eye, and I think Sidious has the perfect sound for it. I also think that these slower parts found throughout the album really help give the vocalist more of a “standout” aura, especially when he is doing the higher screams, which in my opinion sound fucking brilliant.
Another part of this track which I liked so much started when the blast beats subside and go into a very heavy, floor-tom-focused beat: “boom, boom, boom”, which then introduces a very catchy, classy-sounding guitar chord progression.
Honestly, the way tracks 3 and 4 flowed into each other was like bread and butter. I thought the Dark Transmission-style interlude was fucking cool, and as I said, the way they met made it feel like the two tracks were one piece from the start. Personally, I thought the incredibly intense speed of “Cosmossuary”, alongside the little tremolo-picked licks on top, was what made this song become one of my favourites.
After listening to Sidious’s Malefic Necropolis, I can happily say that I thought it was honestly incredible and now easily among my top 5 Immortal Frost Productions bands, which, to be fair, says quite a bit considering how much I enjoy basically all the bands I’ve become a fan of from this label. What makes this band so good for me is how clear everything sounds, which is quite uncommon with bands that lean into near-full ruthlessness like this band does. They place their interlude tracks well, which helps give the album a sense of direction, all whilst keeping the same devilish atmosphere which this album commands.
Shout out moments.
The drums are so precise and well-tuned. The fills are thick, and the blast beats never sound out of sync. The bass is very prominent and adds a very thick wall of sound under the mix, which helps elevate all of the other instruments. The vocalist is absolutely the perfect fit for a band which explores this specific style of black metal. Every track, he’s played such a role in making everything sound more hell-bent.
Overall, I’d give this album a grand 9/10. I’m seriously happy to have had the chance to listen to this album in full and now to be a big fan of Sidious. Full support from me going forward, and I can’t wait to see what these guys do next. I will be keeping an eye out to see if they play in the UK… A man can dream, haha.
