MANDIBULA is quite a mysterious entity and even in this age of information I haven’t been able to get much details about his band / project. In any case, "Sacrificial Metal Of Death" was released back in 2012 by small Portuguese label Caverna Abismal and by now it managed to land in my CD player for a review. Honestly, after the first spin I wasn’t impressed at all and only by sheer power of will I put it to a second listening test. I can’t say it changed my opinion drastically for the better, but I’ve discovered things I’ve missed before which let me to view them from a different angle. Now to put it into words isn’t the easiest thing, but MANDIBULA is all about atmosphere – gloomy, a bit bombastic, mysterious and slowly building darkness that engulfs you. The words Black Ambient Ritual Metal ring true more than anything when I try to describe their style for myself and you. Obviously the biggest inspiration riff-wise is HELLHAMMER, old BATHORY and WINTER, but the guitar tone is very transparent, it doesn’t have that crunch which we used to hear on Death / Black Metal records and brings to mind artists such as ALCEST. Mixed with a low booming bass and tortured yet clean vocals MANDIBULA create this very unique ambient sounding Metal of Death. The songs are creeping up on you slowly and when the mood is right, can really drag you down into their world. The lyrics, sung / moaned in Portuguese, add another touch of originality here. Anyway, maybe some would describe MANDIBULA simply as a Black / Shoegaze project and honestly I’m not an expert in that style, but for me personally "Sacrificial Metal Of Death" stands out as one of the most original and obscure sounding records I’ve heard, they even bring to mind an old Swiss band MORDOR, very bleak, gloomy and strange. Definitely not for everyday listening this record still manages to pull some strings hidden deep inside, so you might definitely want to check it out. www.cavernaabismal.com, https://cavernaabismal.bandcamp.com