The Swedish death metal veteran crew Ordo Inferus combine two things I love:

1. Classic death metal
2. Roman history

"What's not to like?" I hear myself thinking when this disc rotates. Not a lot, really!

The mood is set even before the music begins with all titles being in Latin. The lyrics are not, though, and even if Tony Freed throws in brutal vocals, you can tell that it's all about gods, fire and power, all the things that can set off the imagination and what has fascinated me about the Roman empire since I was a boy. This is dark and majestic stuff.

The four members of Ordo Inferus have paid their dues in Excruciate, Necrophobic, Morpheus, Godhate and Nifelheim, and they know how to put together death metal, that's for sure. A kinship with Unleashed can't be denied, methinks.

Those of you who know me will know that I prefer music that doesn't run exactly in the same gear for a whole album. Ordo Inferus manage to break away from repeating themselves more than appropriately by adding a couple of fine acoustic pieces and also by allowing keyboards into the soundscape. Works perfectly.

If I were to recommend one track to sell the album to you, I'd probably go for Divinato Tuscalana. A majestic tune. This is the fabric epic death metal is made from.

Ave Ordo Inferus, fortuna ad vos!