Aside from guitarist / sometimes-everything-else-ist N. Sadist, Sweden’s PATRONYMICON has ever been in flux, both in lineup and quality. Now, after having worked with a dedicated vocalist (H. Sulphur) and second guitarist (J. Malice) since shortly after 2013’s All Daggers Towards The Sky, N. Sadist returns, rounded out by a new rhythm section, attempting to finally stake his claim.

Ushered Forth By Cloven Tongue rips forth from the gates of perdition, less black scathe and more an all-out death assault. One element greatly improved from past efforts is the injection of true melodic riffing that sacrifices no brutality in the process, ‘Haissem’ recalling The Rack-era Asphyx as much as ‘The Funeral Of A Passive God’ does pre-Elegy AMORPHIS, both to great and memorable affect. Of note is the solo work in the latter, leading us into the utter obsidian depravity of ‘XI Kings XI Curses’, which writhes in convoluted ecstasy, reminiscent of MELECHESH at its most twisted. Now is the time where I feel I should compare the stranger, aeons-old rumble of bass/guitar/drum interplay to the classic early-’90s Sunlight Studios output, but don’t have to, as Ushered Forth… was…well, ushered forth not only by cloven tongue, but with the guidance of Tomas Skogsberg himself at that very locale. ’nuff said, for most.

‘Womb Of Rejection’ swaggers, slowly slogging through the verses, only to up the blast ante during the chorus, and is probably the most representative of PATRONYMICON’s 3rd as a whole, containing all elements present in the band, while managing not to sound like a simple pastiche. Conveying an aura of the majestic, ‘From The Depths Of Damnation’, at its midpoint, contains a spoken word bit over the main riff, working for the song instead of against, the mark of a band who has found the level of confidence needed to move onward from here to even greater things.

And that’s what Ushered Forth By Cloven Tongue is, at its charred heart. A stepping stone, and a damned solid one at that. This is PATRONYMICON at its most fully realized by leagues, and – if the band plays this hand well – bodes extremely well for its future.
Review By: Lord Randall

PATRONYMICON
Ushered Forth By Cloven Tongue
Osmose Productions
4.5 / 6