Sovereign "Spiritual Warfare: Demo MMXVII review
Over the years Black Metal has found multiple new routes in its sound from war metal to cascadian black metal but from what I have found that the deeper you dig in the black metal underground you see almost a small resurgence of extreme, raw and fast black metal. One of these bands that keep the classic lo-fi sound is Arizona’s Sovereign. Sovereign formed in 2011 in the deserts of Arizona and have been somewhat quiet on releases since there 2014 full length “Nailing shut the Sacrosanct Orifice” but this year the band dropped two incredibly impressive releases one being their split with Haunter (which will be discussed in a separate review) and the other being the violent 3 track “ SPIRIT WARFARE: DEMO MMXVII” which Is what Dagger Death will be reviewing here. This tape to say the least is fast, aggressive and reminds you of the classics while staying fresh. You can hear the evil and pissed off sounds of Craft and Behexen but this tape is still able to keep the underlying atmosphere of a band like Leviathan. From the first track “Hammer of fevered light” you can hear what this band is all about. The guitar tone is classic black metal and reminiscent of early Darkthrone but after the first minute and a half the song kicks in with the howling vocals from both vocalists. By this time you are pretty much completely emerged in this demo. The songs are very raw but not to the point where the atmosphere of the raw recording out does that actual music, you get a very balanced sound. In my opinion the second track is where you really appreciate how good this band is. “ Diadem of Wound” is absolutely ferocious. It has everything you want in a black metal song and a little more. Where this song really comes to fruition in my eyes is around the 2:50 mark specifically in the guitar section. This is where the band shows a little bit more of their technicality which shines on this song because in lots of black metal bands the atmosphere seems more important than technical ability. Finally Sovereign gives you a wall of atmospheric sound on their final track, “The wall of Recalcitrance” and this track is a satisfying end to the demo. Overall Sovereign is a very solid black metal act not just on this tape but on pretty much everything they have released and should be on every black metal fans radar immediately.
