Ludicra – “Fex Urbis Lex Orbis” – Alternative Tentacles

This local band’s musical sophistication sets them apart from many other projects classified as black metal. We hear an impressive inferno of blazing guitars and crushing drums, played as actual instruments, not as numbing jackhammers. The compositions unfold, one brutal passage after another, with only the barest references to ornate prog-metal and, at the other end of the scale, mindless pummeling. The lead vocals are delivered with throat-destroying intensity, and the lyrics, bereft of hope, project anguish and despair more than the cartoonish evil (blood worship, Helldemons, etc.) that one gets with a lot of bands working this territory. Good stuff.