Review Summary: Satiate your bloodlust.
"Sermon Ov Wrath" is an album derivative of its predecessors, adhering to the template set by the more straightforward side of death metal (albums like "Demigod" by Behemoth come to mind). There's some crunchy riffs that are clear and clean but not refined to the point of sterility, some powerful vocals that lie somewhere between a bark and menacing growl, and very standard blast beats and solid drum fills. There really isn't a hefty amount of content to dissect here. Off the title track there's some relatively catchy, sinister tremolo picking and some slower, more harrowing passages of guitar work, signifying that there is enough variety to keep the album from dragging itself into a lull.
Still between the frenzied soloing and driving, machine-like chugs, there is actually very little in terms of originality here. You can almost pinpoint the exact influences this band has, e.g bands like Decapitated, Immolation, and the aforementioned Behemoth. This is essentially the Achilles heel of this album, making for a record that is somewhat shallow. Nothing sleep inducing, nothing cringe inducing, but nothing exactly stellar. There is some more mellow, graceful passages to remedy this, such as the first minute of "Crown of the Dead", which is an epic in its own right and truly the pinnacle of this record, even adding some cleanly sung chants towards the middle of the song.
"Sermon Ov Wrath" isn't a truly spectacular record with many distinguishable features, but hell, sometimes you just crave simple raw death metal and nothing more. The band does their influences at least some pride, between the murky yet precise production, monstrous growls and guitar riffs and serviceable drums that are neither detrimental nor standout. "Sermon Ov Wrath" is just good, pure death metal. Nothing more, nothing less.
