Band's List Death Metal Dominus Xul To the Glory of the Ancient Ones

Chile's Dominus Xul is no newcomer in the old school death metal scene, having formed back in 1992 under the name Dominus before changing names in 1998, and splitting after just one full length album. To the Glory of the Ancient Ones marks their comeback, after more than 12 years of silence, and sees the band once more going back to their roots in old school death metal.

The generically titled Intro helps in setting an ominous mood for the listener, with the heavy atmosphere and a spoken vocals at the background, marking the impending doom of mankind. The band does not give any warning at all as the album begins proper with Burying the Holy Lies (Manifesto of Apostasy), with the urgent riffing and drumming. Without long, the Incantation references and influences are immediately available, not only in vocalist Claudio's deep, throaty growls, but also in the structures of the songs. The focus on the heaviness, instead of the speed in the music, the alternating between trem-picked riff sections and heavy chunky riffs, and the dark atmosphere that is so characteristic of Incantation and bands that take references from them are all present, though Dominus Xul attempts to introduce some different touch with the inclusion of spoken vocals at the background at times.

This is not to say that the album is a bad thing though. The relatively clean production quality on the album definitely helps in making each of the instruments ring out clearly, compared to the many other Incantation-worship bands that attempt a muddy production and end up sounding like ass. The individual members are also capable on their instruments, with guitarists Alejandro and Fernando often trading face-ripping lead guitar solos before suddenly going into a doom-paced segment again, like on The Secret of Liquid Arcane.

Longer tracks like the aforementioned The Secret of Liquid Arcane, however, tend to end up getting slightly repetitive, with the repetition of the riffs that ring on for at least 2 minutes after the solo, towards the end of the track and while it could be used to build up a certain climax, having the riff go on and on for such a long period of time could have caused a reverse-effect instead, and this is worsened when it is realised that the track is just droning on without much real purpose. Fortunately, I Raise Lucifer picks up the pace slightly instead of continuing the drone that has been set with the previous track, managing to still keep the listener's attention instead of letting him drift off.

Lyrically, the band has obviously invested quite a lot of time and effort in researching, as what is present on To the Glory of the Ancient Ones are not brainless blasphemous and anti-Christian lyrics, and this would certainly be an advantage for lyrical buffs that need lyrics with real knowledge invested to enhance the listening experience. Lyrics on tracks like A Tribute to the Real Knowledge displays the band's thirst for knowledge, and this definitely shines through the lyrics throughout the album, with lyrical themes ranging from Eastern (Hindu) to Babylonian mythology.