SIDIOUS – Malefic Necropolis

RELEASE YEAR: 2026
BAND URL: https://lnk.to/sidious

The intriguing black metal horde from the UK sporting the moniker Sidious is an interesting proposition. Malefic Necropolis is inspired and relentlessly vicious music from the vilest pits of misanthropy known to man, and these chaps have got a firm grip on how to write engaging and propulsive songs of darkness with drive, direction, and purpose to them.

Seemingly influenced by the mid-to-late 90s wave of the infamous genre in question yet taking that blueprint and those haunting trademarks much further all the while leaving their own stamp on things, Sidious has essentially crafted a compelling, cohesive, and not least memorable piece of work. The riffs are to the point and slice like a goddamn hammer, and they are coming at you hard and without an ounce of mercy here. I love the drumming courtesy of Valdr as it displays creativity, technical flair and playfulness in more or less equal measure, and the group as a whole is gelling. Although the LP is relatively big on variety with the added spice of some brilliant dark ambient parts and hugely atmospheric sequences thrown in for good measure, the vocals do tend to veer towards the slightly predictable, unadventurous, and one-dimensional on a few occasions, but that does not change the fact that this is quality music through and through in the overall perspective and that the raw voice of Isfeth generally gets the job done.

Very well-produced and capturing a good balance between the various instruments while also sounding big, crushing, and tense, there is a lot to enjoy here, most notably the catchy “Rotborn Terror” and “Vortex of Boundless Unlight” – two foreboding and brooding delights. With this record, Sidious are proving themselves an emerging force across the extreme metal underground, and I could definitely see fans and admirers of latter-day Gorgoroth, Ragnarok, Panchrysia, and Nefarium enjoying the hell out of Malefic Necropolis.