Sphere: Homo Hereticus (2012)

Working Title: Going Through a Blasphemous Phase

Sphere’s Homo Hereticus is another submission by Godz ov War Productions. As opposed to my other recent Polish death metal review (Pandemonium), Sphere is more in line with what you expect. In other words, they’ve heard their fair share of Vader and Behemoth, and they’re not afraid to show it on their sophomore full-length.

You already know exactly what to expect from this band. It’s mostly fast-paced death metal riffs with a modern production. (What is it with Poland and modern production, anyway? Didn’t they get the “raw is better” memo?) The mix has everything exactly where it should be, and the band plays with precision and energy. The vocals are a hoarse death growl, somewhere between Nergal and your average Swe-death gut-belcher. In other words, pretty much exactly like Vader's vocals.


The songs tend to be pretty good, too. Opener “Forever Sworn to Blasphemy” and the title track are perfect examples of their catchy riff-writing style, and they have some vocal and melodic hooks in there as well. The leads on “Devils Reunion” make it another clear standout. It has some weaker tracks, too, like the brutal but obvious “Vengeance’s Core” or the mostly forgettable “Third Scent Carcass” (despite the latter’s somewhat clever variation on a death metal breakdown). Overall, it’s a very good modern death metal album that’s highly aggressive and very catchy.

Then again, a very good modern death metal album isn’t always what I want. The playing is too precise, the production too perfect, the songs too easy to grasp onto. I wish there was some obvious, quirky aspect to this. Even if that quirk is a flaw, it would still manage to make it stand out. If I want good Polish death, I can always listen to Behemoth or Vader. If I wanted something else, I’d go for something else. I’m not likely to pick this one up very often.



The Verdict: There is absolutely nothing wrong with Homo Hereticus. It’s very good, in fact, and some of these songs will definitely stick in your head. If you can’t get enough modern death (especially Polish death, which is, after all, a superior form of modern death) then you will absolutely enjoy Sphere. Me, maybe I listen to too much to thoroughly enjoy it as much as it deserves. I give it 3 out of 5 stars.