Black metal doesn't get more truly ancient than Romania's Siculicidium. Since 2003, these self-described Transylvanian Kulturterrorists" have built a body of work beyond compare. From the very beginning to today, the duo of Lugosi Bela and Pestifer are two warriors who've remained the core of Siculicidium with the addition of some friends for rehearsing and recording activities. Throughout the last 16 years, Siculicidium have staunchly stood against current trends and proudly chose to operate away from the mainstream, allowing only the strength of their music to represent them. They even didn't give interviews for the first 13 years, making the cult even more mysterious. And with influences as varied as Bathory, Sarcofago, Beherit, Tormentor, and Master's Hammer to the surprising likes of 16 Horsepower and Fields of the Nephilim, the signature Siculicidium has remained firm yet always unique: a seamless melding of first- and second-wave black metal, thrash, doom, punk, and even post-punk influences, challengingly culminating in a cover version of Swans' "New Mind." Now, three years since their last release, the Land Beyond the Forest EP, the cult of Siculicidium returns with a brand-new EP titled A Halal es az iranytu. Featuring two exclusive songs, this EP - which tellingly translates to "The death and the compass" in English - is the perfect distillation of the band's bewitching craft. The A-side is an eerie pulse of tension and dread, evoking the most hidden mysteries of the Transylvanian forests, a true and daring slice of Romanian black metal grimness. The B-side deepens the Siculicidium enigma with an overtly deathrocking aspect - but, how often does dark post-punk come this close to righteously underground black metal? The answer is "rarely, if at all," and across the whole release will one hear such instruments as trumpet and Jew's harp. Adorned with stark cover artwork courtesy of Juha Vuorma (Autopsy, Kalmah, Usurper, Denial of God), Siculicidium's A Halal es az iranytu is a long-awaited plunge into stellar darkness!" (description by Nathan T. Birk)
