Artist: Empty Chalice
Country: Canada
Label: Wolfkult Religion
Formats: Cassette tape
Year: 2026
Empty Chalice is not exactly a new band, as they have been around for six years already and ‘Majesty of Sin’ is their sixth release so far. Still, whether the band has reached far out of the confines of their local Canadian scene so far can be questioned. But that certainly could change with their debut full-length released on the Dutch Wolfkult Religion.
That the band can squeeze 17 songs into about 33 minutes of play time might give you an indication of what sort of violence is about the be sent you way. Think of a wild and furious mixture of Black and Death Metal that brings back memories of Sarcófago, Necrovore, Bathory, Sodom, Marduk and early Impaled Nazarene. The guitar sound especially pushes it more towards the Black Metal spectrum, but honestly, it doesn’t matter much how you label it. With a combination of shrill shrieks and deeper growls, frantic drumming and a twin guitar attack, there’s little room for fancy things like slower breaks. What is mostly on offer here is an onslaught at grinding pace with some short solos making it about as delicate as it will get. Perhaps the outlier is the title track, an overall more atmospheric track with a lengthy solo that oozes a fascination with Heavy Metal. The production of the record is nice and sharp, with the rawest edges of their past releases brushed away. That does not away from the intensity and raucous spirit however, something that’s inherently contained in the short but sweet tracks. Still, the room to appreciate some solid melodies amongst the flurry of aggression is certainly a nice consequence.
While certainly not the most extreme band around that blends Black and Death Metal, the fastpaced assault combined with a great sense of melodies makes this a more than excellent debut full-length for Empty Chalice. Definitely recommended to check this one out if you like the idea of mixing an album like ‘Ugra Karma’ with a bit more Death Metal edges and some melodious solos.
