Kingdom – Abusive Worship In The Chamber Of Shame

Now if there is one thing I have learned over the years it is the fact that the Polish do nothing half-assed – If they set out to, for instance, create a Death Metal album, they do their research, they compile evidence and compare approaches and then, somehow, manage to pour out near-perfect examples of how it should be done, genre-wise. And while that is a massive generalization, it is one that has been yet to be disproven in my experience (for a Black Metal example, look no further than the original releases from Batoushka).  

The newest example that has stumbled my way of this in recent times is from Kingdom – Namely their Full-length release from last year entitled Abusive Worship In The Chamber Of Shame, a ten tracks, thirty-four minutes long example of how we used to do it; And clearly should continue to do so, the band seems to imply (and to which I whole-heartedly agree). 

Kingdom was founded near the turn of the millenium, something that their musical style also reflects – It is fast tempo, relentless, riddled with blast beats and short, almost machinegun-like efficient riffs. Clearly more heavily in the vein of Dissenter and Obituary than Dark Tranquility. The vocals are delivered in a low, menacing growl as well, mostly in English (aside from the first track of the record, which I am assuming is in their native Polish, something Google seems to agree with). 

“Obelżywy Kult” as the lone Polish-performed track on the record is called translates into ‘Abusive Cult’, which is both a fitting title given the name of the album overall, as well as an apt descriptor of the atmosphere the album creates; Sheer relentless agression, expertly conveyed to the audience through screaming instruments, tortured drums and low-pitched growls spouting blasphemous texts. 

Honestly, this record is probably a prime example of one that I end up having a hard time writing anything meaningful about simply due to how effective it is. It is textbook Death Metal, almost precisely the way I like it, no more, no less. And while that does mean I sadly cannot rank it at the upper echelions of our rating system (we do take into consideration how innovative and bold a new release is), that hardly changes the fact that this record will find its place alongside my near-complete Bolt Thrower collection for when I am in the mood for something succinct, angry and filled with energy. 

https://www.facebook.com/kingdomtempleofdeath/timeline