Sentient Horror Rites of Gore

Sentient Horror "Descend to Chaos" Via Feral Death Metal (Early Track Stream)


Ferocity in death metal is a virtue, but one that’s hard to boil down to a simple formula. Convincing the listener that what they’re hearing is a full-on, unhinged assault is a matter of flipping a buried, primal switch in the mind, not just dialing in the right tone or eschewing a metronome. Sentient Horror, however, have made the study of violent, flesh-rending death metal their sole goal over their career, and their upcoming third album Rites of Gore continues their belligerent trajectory. Their combination of malice and insanity shines especially bright on “Descend to Chaos”, which we’re premiering here.

“Descend to Chaos” is an energetic demonstration of Sentient Horror’s death metal chops. The track stitches together lightning-quick progressions and punchy, hatchet-chop-like riffs into a rollercoaster cadence—it’s not an easy track to anticipate, but each transition pays off and ramps up the song’s erratic momentum. While the rust-tinged guitar tones and full-throated vocals establish an obviously festering sound, it’s how the band lurches from tempo to tempo and weave lead lines into each breakneck riff that adds the necessary instability to give off an air of genuine ferocity.

Matt Moliti (guitars/vocals) comments:

Apart from horror movies, I’ve also been huge into horror gaming since I was in my early 20’s, and I’m a big fan of the Resident Evil series. “Village” had just come out and werewolves feature really heavily in that game, so I had the idea to write the lyrics here about becoming infected by and turning into a werewolf. I liked the idea of having the tempo drop suddenly from the high speed of the verse and chorus right at the start of the bridge into a mid-tempo churn.

Rites of Gore releases February 22nd via Redefining Darkness Records (N. America) and Testimony Records (Europe) .