{"id":387355,"date":"2026-04-19T14:37:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T14:37:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/387355\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T14:37:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T14:37:09","slug":"sicarius-nex-review-angry-metal-guy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/387355\/","title":{"rendered":"Sicarius – Nex Review | Angry Metal Guy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Sicarius hit the ground raging in 2017 when the Californian black metal upstarts released their scathingly vicious debut album, Serenade of Slitting Throats, which captured the metal heart of AMG\u2019s Diabolus in Muzaka, earning a coveted 4.0. Sicarius\u2019s sophomore effort, 2020\u2019s God of Dead Roots, didn\u2019t fare as well; the band, adjusting to the departure of founding guitarist Argyris, ultimately turned in a less visceral, more workmanlike product. Then, when original drummer Brandon Zackay left to focus on his career in Whitechapel, and the other members exited, both voluntarily and not, Sicarius ostensibly died, leaving God of Dead Roots an unanticipated swan song. Fast forward to 2024, when Argyris reunited with original bassist Carnage and joined forces with new vocalist Ak\u00e9falos and session drummer Levi Xvl to begin recording a third album, Nex, which, after six long years, has arrived to reintroduce this risen phoenix iteration of Sicarius to the masses.<\/p>\n

Sicarius the resurrected doesn\u2019t sound much different than Sicarius the dead. Nex adheres to the same modern black metal formula as its predecessors, maintaining channels of influence drawn from Dissection, Dark Funeral, Urgehal, and, despite Mick Kenney\u2019s departure from the booth, Anaal Nathrakh. In keeping with their monikers\u2019 Latin translation, Sicarius brings an assassin\u2019s cache of weaponry to bear. Argyris sounds rejuvenated and lethal, his armory of blistering riffage (\u201cCold Death,\u201d \u201cNo Witnesses\u201d), chaotically tremolodic leads (\u201cNex\u201d), and nifty solo work (\u201cCrashing Into the Abyss\u201d) on full display. Newcomer Ak\u00e9falos adds a layer of frigidity to Nex\u2019s surgical, cold-steel across a warm-throat sound, his icy, high-pitched screeches a mix of Abbath and Hat from early Gorgoroth, while his low-bellied growls are reminiscent of Rotting Christ. Nex has the sound of a band pissed, Sicarius attempting to bury the remnants of what was for something altogether more destructive.<\/p>\n

\ufeffNex by Sicarius<\/a><\/p>\n

There\u2019s no doubt Sicarius is exceptionally capable of speed, but for my money, I connected most with Nex\u2019s melodies and mixed paces. Beginning with a brooding, tremoloed guitar melody, \u201cOpened Obsidian Gateways\u201d uses Sargeistian levels of repetition to drive its earwormy chord progressions home, a variation employed during the verses and identically replicated during the bridge before sliding into a nice, mid-song chug section and then back again. Simple yet effective, the song\u2019s a highlight as I found myself humming the melody randomly throughout the day. Also noteworthy are the slow-moving melodic chords of \u201cBanshee,\u201d which gave off Dissection vibes, and the mid-paced marcher \u201cThe Hunger We Cannot Sate,\u201d as it gallops along in true Watain fashion, instigating black-n-roll levels of head bobbery over its 5:24 runtime. There\u2019s a lot of musical nuance woven into the details of Nex; my many play-throughs tell me as much, which makes it all the more disappointing that it\u2019s so hard to hear them.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\u201cWith a (t)reble yell she cried, NO more, more, more.\u201d I\u2019ve taken some slight liberties with Mr. Idol\u2019s classic lyric to illustrate Nex\u2019s most glaring flaw: a thin, imbalanced mix. Nex sounds much louder than its DR score might suggest. Serenade of Slitting Throats, for instance, with a DR lower than Nex\u2019s, sounds light years warmer because Kenney was able to give Serenade\u2019s lower tones some weight. Nex is nearly devoid of low end, completely negating anything Carnage is doing on bass and robbing much of Levi Xvl\u2019s bass drum work of power, making for an extremely exhausting experience. I had to break my focused listening sessions up, in fact, because trying to listen through all 44:10 of Nex\u2019s runtime left me so audially spent that I was reaching for aspirin. Whether this was a deliberate choice, I don\u2019t know. It sure lends Sicarius an icier-than-thou edge, as much black metal of this ilk is known for, but it really robbed a large portion of my enjoyment, which sucks because, in bite-sized pieces, Nex is actually a pretty decent album.<\/p>\n

Sicarius has returned with a vengeance and a we\u2019re-not-fucking-around attitude, as evidenced in no small part by that brutally distinctive cover art. Alongside other bands like Impious Throne, Unholy Altar and Wuldorgast, Sicarius is bringing a sense of menace back to the US black metal scene. Nex is an album worth spinning, despite being hampered by a production that makes it too tiring to listen to in a single sitting, which left me to score it thusly. Still, I\u2019ll be keeping my eyes and ears peeled for the next outing.<\/p>\n

Rating: 2.5\/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320kbps mp3
Label: Adirondack Black Mass<\/a> | Bandcamp (album)<\/a>
Websites: Bandcamp<\/a> | Instagram<\/a>
Releases Worldwide: April 10th, 2026<\/p>\n

\n\tGive in to Your Anger:\n<\/p>\n