Albert Bell is a doom metal veteran- he plays in Forsaken and Nomad’s Son- two great doom bands from Malta. But it seems that it’s still not enough for Albert to fully use his potential, so he started a solo project.
And that appeared to be a great idea ! Sacro Sanctus is an amazing band, whole album is a wild journey through all the heavy/doom which gave Albert inspirations. Believe me, this guy knows how to rock! We’ve got here literally every good element we can meet in that genre- from Sain Vitus or Witchifinder General’s intense riffing, to the sick and dark atmosphere from last Celtic Frost album (Tom Warrior is the biggest inspiration on Deus Volt, sometimes it’s hard to believe, that it’s not his solo album ;) ). Compositions here are a total masterpiece, amazing riffs, even better than we can hear in other Albert’s bands. Great sound and production. Sacro Sanctus is one’s man vision realized on the highest level. Even if that album is dark and sinister there are a lot of faster (for doom’s standards of course) parts, which are perfect for headbanging. It’s clearly that Bell is a veteran, who totally know what he wants to play.
The only disadvantage here is vocals- they’re not bad, but average. It’s hard to say if it’s lack of vocal skills or trying to sing like Tom Warrior, but it doesn’t go that well. Unfortunately- vocal parts are monotonous. Although, I cannot call it a big disadvantage- Deus Volt is a typical “guitar” album, where the most important things are heavy, amazing sounding riff. Vocal parts are just a complement here. And still- it’s a really good album. I strongly recommend it for every doom metal fans, especially for that one, who are also in love with Celtic Frost.
Wojciech Michalak