Filthy Music Review - 'Kingdom: Morbid Priest of Supreme Blasphemy'

Kingdom – Morbid Priest of Supreme Blasphemy (2013)

Hellthrasher Productions

Review by Jude Felton

The beast that is death metal is certainly not, even though its name might suggest, ever going to shuffle off this mortal coil. Having festered battered and, most importantly, evolved over the past few decades, the genre has never seemingly been more popular. Back when I first discovered the likes of Death and Morbid Angel back in the 80s I had the choice of about three death metal albums to listen to, in its formative years. Now, the choice is almost endless.

This brings us to Poland’s Kingdom, who 5 years after their debut (and a split album), have come screaming back with their second album; the wonderfully titled Morbid Priest of Supreme Blasphemy, and it’s an evil son of a bitch. 10 songs, 30 minutes, no fucking about, this is an album that gets in, grinds the flesh from your bones and then leaves you truly battered.

As far as death metal goes, Kingdom aren’t really offering up anything new; with their emphasis being on the brutally fast old-school style. However, there is a conviction in the material here that is hard to ignore. You won’t be getting a pretty little polished sounding slice of music here, instead expect a raw and stripped down exercise in hostile metal.

Morbid Priest of Supreme Blasphemy really is what death metal is supposed to be, which is brutal and aggressive music, but that can also work against it, as it doesn’t really offer us anything new. Still, if unrefined death metal is your thing you are going to get a kick out of Kingdom’s latest album.

One area that I did really find fault with, and I only mention it as it was a distraction at times, was the drum sound. On certain tunes there was a really hollow sound to it, with in turn took away from the thick and oppressive sound that permeates the rest of the album. A little beefing up in this department and I think you would have had yourself a far more fulfilling listening experience.

Drum issues aside, Morbid Priest of Supreme Blasphemy does deliver on the promise of its suitably malevolent title, and gives us 30 minutes of unrelenting death metal. The Polish crew is definitely one with a lot of promise, so I just hope we don’t have to wait another 5 years for the next album.

Tracklist:

01. Slaves of Ruins
02. Krwawiąca rana
03. Beast of the Sea
04. Morbid Priest
05. Supreme Blasphemy
06. Supposed to Rot (Nihilist cover)
07. Summomed from Dead
08. Nameless King 
09. Tombs of Dead
10. Syn Ognia

Morbid Priest of Supreme Blasphemy is released by Hellthrasher Productions and can be ordered here.