REVIEW: King Potenaz - Arcane Desert Rituals Vol. 1

The unstoppable Italian trio, King Potenaz, has returned with a new offering of stoner doom metal named Arcane Desert Rituals Vol. 1. Originally formed in 2019 while the members Giuseppe Guarini, Francesco Pesato and Piero Schiavone were jamming together, the band have managed to squeeze more rawness, aggression and darkness into their second album.

Consisting of four lengthy songs, Arcane Desert Rituals Vol. 1 is a textbook example of stoner doom metal, with its distinctive slow melodies and haunting sounds of guitars. All four songs are opening with prolonged, intensifying intros, that in most cases transition into Guarini’s fry screams.

The first and second song, 'Rivers Of Death' and 'The Empty Hand Pt. 1', are both similar sounding pieces in terms of guitars, vocals and drums. Listeners are not necessarily surprised by any novelties, which might be a let down, especially with songs that are over ten minutes in length - but may be assured by the elements they know from experience. There are no transitions between the tracks either, resulting sometimes in confusing listen-throughs, when the beginning and the end of certain tracks are not clear.

The third song, called 'Sabbatum Sanctum', is the shortest one from the four, at a positively humble five minutes and forty-nine seconds. Starting with a dreadful intro, where a tambourine takes over the narrative, the song then proceeds to give the much relieved audience distorted guitars and crushing drums. Followed by dystopian vocals, the song is once again a text-book example of the genre it is ought to represent, and King Potenaz once again proves that they are veterans of this genre. Although the finale of the song seems to be distant at first, the track ends rather abruptly, making it sound odd and awkward for some of the listeners.

As it happens sometimes, even in this case, it is worth to wait until the end of the album for the best piece. The closing song, titled 'Ariadne, The Serpent Witch', is a magical piece, very distant from the rest of the songs, yet still corresponding with the narrative of the genre. It is not only the best song of the entire project, but also the longest one - with almost fourteen minutes under its belt. Funny enough, it is also the only song that has a full guest feature on it, namely Jana Maista, who has also lent her vocals for backing vocals in “Sabbatum Sanctum”, and Marcella Loconte, who wrote the lyrics for the song. Highlighting Guarini’s guitar and Pensato’s bass throughout the whole track, it's surely a surprising ending to a fairly well-made album.

Apart from the repeating similarities and lacking transitions between the songs, Arcane Desert Rituals Vol. 1 is a project that has had a lot of work put towards its completion, and it is visible that the creators thought about the album as a whole, as well as the individual songs. It is a solid fit for anyone who enjoys the stoner doom metal side of music, and would likely be enjoyable even for metal fans who are not that familiar with the genre.

Score: 6/10

Arcane Desert Rituals Vol.1 was released on June 27th via Majestic Mountain Records.

Words: Katerina Stepanikova

Photos: King Potenaz