Artist: Sacris Ritus Vermes
Country: Germany
Label: Death Revelations
Formats: Digital EP
Year: 2025
Some images say more than a thousand words. The candles, the smoke and the skull to remind me of Mare’s ‘Spheres Like Death’. A band name that translates roughly to Holy Rites of the Worms. The backing of the quality label Death Revelations. And the ever-growing number of quality Black Metal bands from Germany. Sacris Ritus Vermes has all the potential to be right up my alley.
And quite frankly, they do not disappoint. Sacris Ritus Vermes seems greatly inspired by ‘De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas’, the Nidrosian Black Metal bands Celestial Bloodshed and Kaosritual, but also albums like ‘VVorldVVithoutEnd’ by Katharsis and ‘Abhorrence of Light’ by 13th Moon. It makes ‘with Burning Devotion’ a ferocious, yet ritualistic Black Metal experience. The atmosphere is augmented by background evangelic choirs that give the songs an extra haunting dimension on top of the gnarly riffs. Melody is often subdued, although each of the three tracks has rising leads in the vein of Mayhem’s seminal masterpiece featured within. The previous EP ‘with Sacred Horror’ had a more seamsless integration of organs that inevitably drew that EP somewhat closer to for instance Ritual Death, yet on this release the organs are more used as closures to the ceremonies, particularly highlighted in the lengthy organ outro in ‘Vehemens Fide’. To offset the more sporadic organs, there is a larger role for the clean choirs that add a sinister element to the tracks. In addition, the sound of the guitars on ‘with Burning Devotion’ is sharper than on the previous output, making the contrast between the furious Black Metal riffs and the near-growling and howling vocals even greater and more striking.
‘With Burning Devotion’ features just three songs, but these are filled with passion and poison. After the evangelic intro subsides, ‘Devotio Ardente’ explodes with pulsating drums and a gnarly undertone in the riffs. With a rumbling bass, the vocals are entrancing, both in the growling and in the cleaner background choirs. The track is intense, haunting, and the changes in pace keep it enthralling throughout. The subsequent ‘Tenebris Vaccum’ then initially aims for a somewhat lower pace, building a pulse through the groove of the drums and bass. The chanting choirs add an unsettling counterpart, a momentum that’s kept as the tempo increases. The vocals are wild and extended, and the riffs have a suffocating ring to them, until the song dies a slow death at the hand of organs. ‘Vehemens Fide’ then starts in overwhelming fashion, in a vein that reminds me of Whoredom Rife mixed with Celestial Bloodshed. While the drums plough on relentlessly and the vocals are barked fiercely, some melody surfaces to contrast it all. Melodies that continue to rise as the tempo subsides, and even eventually guide the song into its lengthy organ-led procession.
With a sharper tone and pace than the preceding EP, ‘with Burning Devotion’ feels like a remarkable step up in venom and intensity. The background choirs are equally, or possibly more haunting than the organs, pushing the music of Sacris Ritus Vermes into an even darker direction. A simply fantastic EP, mandatory listening material for those that adore the Nidrosian Black Metal scene and in particular the acts related to Wraath, as well as the crushing violence of Katharsis.
