US blackened doom metal outfit DESICCATION has resurfaced with its sophomore full-length, Legatum Mortuorum. Just ahead of the album’s official release, the band made the entire record available for streaming across digital platforms. The album is being issued via Carbonized Records.

The California-based trio continues to fuse the harsh and chaotic edge of black metal with the crushing atmosphere of doom metal on its latest offering. Stretching from rapid-fire blast beats to sprawling slow-burning riffs, and from dense synth layers to post-metal textures, the album presents a sound notably more cinematic and darker than the band’s previous material. Shaped heavily around themes of grief, loss, and inner collapse, the record also leaves room for fleeting traces of hope within its suffocating atmosphere.

Having drawn attention with their 2022 debut Cold Dead Earth, the band leans further into aggressive black/death metal riffing on the new release without abandoning its melodic doom sensibilities. The vocal contributions from all three members throughout the album’s lengthy and layered compositions stand out as one of the elements reinforcing the record’s dramatic weight.

The album’s production process was completed under the direction of the band’s guitarist and vocalist James Bratt. Recording, mixing, and mastering duties were handled by Patrick Hills at EarthTone Studios in Sacramento. The record also features guest appearances from Alex Miletich of Vile Rites and Mortuous, alongside Karl Cordtz, known for his work with Feral Season and Chrch.

Legatum Mortuorum will be released on CD, vinyl, cassette, and digital formats. Comprised of six tracks, the album is being regarded as a work that pushes the band’s atmospheric extreme metal approach toward a larger and more devastating scale.

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