Album Review: Lamenting Satanas – Invocations

Band: Lamenting Satanas
Title: Invocations
Label: Northern Void Records
Release date:  May  9th,  2025
Country: USA
Format reviewed: High-Quality Digital Recording 

Album Review: Lamenting Satanas – Invocations via Northern Void Records by Sílvia

Lamenting Satanas is a blackened death metal band from the USA with a very fierce sound, and less than one year after their debut album “Scorn”  here they are again with “Invocations”.

As in their album from 2024, there’s an overwhelming intensity emanating from this release. Also, plenty of skills showed by the musicians, who hide themselves behind Roman numerals, being I the vocalist, II the person in charge of guitars, drums, synths, percussion and also vocals, III the one who plays guitars and keys, and IV the bassist. So, no idea of their names, nor their faces, ‘cause they always appear in the shadows in the photos. What a mysterious and intriguing band! 

“Invocations” opens with “Unceremonious”, a relentless track with an oppressive atmosphere, where vocals are monstrous, drums run at full speed most of the time, guitars play dark harmonies highlighted by the deep bass, and at the end of this 4 minutes and a half first assault I feel like smashed by a demolition ball. And things don’t get smoother, ‘cause “The Goat of Abhorrence” comes next and it doesn’t loosen a bit. The guitar solo in the middle is pure dark delight.

“Maleficium” is a very sinister theme, both musical and lyrically speaking. There’s a huge use of blasting drums and other percussion elements, and guitars deliver an impressive display of killer riffs. The bass sounds incredibly good, not a mere filler. Lyrics depict horrid scenes involving hellfire, corpses and malign forces. And the last minute of this track is pure insanity unleashed.

The following songs make their way through your brain infecting it with vocals that seem out of this world, oppressive atmospheres and a crushing guitar work. “Blood of the Serpents Host” is a song I specially like because of the folk-ish tunes played in it, besides of the brutal screams that blow my mind. And “Maligned” is short and aggressive, the guitar playing is intricate, complex, and totally outstanding.

“Invocations: Everlasting” is the sixth track and serves as an intro for the last theme. Some intriguing synths give way to a very atmospheric part with acoustic guitars and special percussion with a rain stick, and this instrumental piece track gradually increases in intensity and somber ambiance, to end up relaxing a bit. “Invocations: Light Take Me” is a ten minute opus with sharp guitar riffs, complex songwriting and lyrics about a sinister story ending in a gore ritual. 

The cover art (done by Belial Necroarts) must be highlighted too because it’s a stunning representation of what appears to be the interior of a temple, with blurred lines, some sparks here and there from which emanates smoke, setting a dark atmosphere in front of your eyes before the music starts playing.

A thing that caught my attention (‘cause in my review of their debut album I highlighted the details), is the change in the logo (by Maxwell Aston). The trees have been replaced by a church or a temple, and according to the explanation that one of the band members gave to me (‘cause I had to ask, of course)  this logo variation represents “the occult, dark and even pseudo religious themes that are present in the lyrics of ‘Invocations’”. Oh fair enough, a cool addition to the whole pack. 

This is a great album: complex, dark, sinister, also melodic, stunning in so many ways. 10/10

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10/10  Immortal Classic
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