Formed in 2016, Germany’s LUCIFUGE steadily built an addicting style of blackened speed metalpunk over the course of three albums, all guided by the iron fist of mainman Equinox. Come 2021’s fourth full-length Infernal Power, Equinox expanded LUCIFUGE to a full lineup, and it paid off in spades: the band’s first album under the banner of DYING VICTIMS capped this signature sound with power and aplomb, exuding a new professionalism that somehow sounded dirtier than ever. Then, with 2023’s Monoliths of Wrath, LUCIFUGE further spitshined their sound and took it in a newer but no-less-parallel direction: classic, ripping-fast thrash of ‘80s gods Sodom, Kreator, Exodus, and of course Slayer. Next year’s Hexensabbat capped the sonic shift, thereby demarcating the band’s second era.
Now arrives LUCIFUGE’s seventh(!) full-length, Under Wheels of Sacrilege, showing there’s yet more elements to be unveiled in their Second Era. Featuring a polished-yet-spacious production that’s almost vintage 1986, Equinox and crew continue to crank up the tempos but balance out the overdrive with clean guitar breaks and classic heavy metal beats, equally classic song structures and dual guitars reminiscent of Judas Priest and Thin Lizzy. Sodom, early Bathory, and Slayer also continue to be primary influences, but the integration of such contemporaneously old elements manages to make LUCIFUGE all the more unique and more like EVIL heavy metal rather than simply a thrash band trying to go more accessible. Put another way, with solos spanning more melodic and even rhythmic variety and Equinox’s vocals more upfront in the mix, Under Wheels of Sacrilege suitably approximates its namesake: epic BIKER METAL with an eye for the arena and (evil) atmosphere to spare.
Not many bands can clean up the way LUCIFUGE do and maintain the same sense of integrity and especially power, but these Germans somehow manage the feat on Under the Wheels of Sacrilege, and deliver their finest record yet. The open road is lined with the graves of the ‘80s!
Tracklist :
1. Under Wheels of Sacrilege
2. Black Wings of Boundless Chaos
3. The Dust of Yesterday
4. Consumed by Time and Rust
5. Cathedral of the Void
6. Sovereignty of the Mortal Flesh
7. Returning to the Primal Flame
8. The Cold Embrace of Death
9. God Killing Machine
10. The Stench of Misery
11. An Unholy Oath
12. Leave no Kingdom for Tomorrow
This item is available for pre-order. It will be available on 01/29/2027.
Notice: orders cannot be split into several shipments. Your order will be dispatched when all items are available.
