Discipline Of Ones Mind Elevates Ones Self
- Joshuah Jones
- May 16, 2023
- 6 min read
Review for the latest EP from Broken Glass Sanctuary, Praeceptum, which can be found right here!
Praeceptum: Latin, noun, to give an order or command, to give directions, advice, advise, about a matter or instance. The very word commands your attention, and the music of Broken Glass Sanctuary evokes imagery and emotions that scrutinizes your own awareness of our audible perceptions of what music in the metal scene can be. When listening to this latest EP from California Bay Area death metallers, you can definitely hear their appreciation of artists who have come before them and utilize that to craft their own concoction of metal movements that seem to carry you through the inner workings of ones psyche, spirit, and ones own ultimate mortality. The music seems to come in waves that wash over you while pummeling and punishing you as you sit there waiting for more, almost as if these guys have been astute students of death metal since it's inception. Like surgeons armed with the sharpest of blades, and the operating room as their musical canvas to wreak their musical havoc upon, Broken Glass Sanctuary masterfully delivers musical movements that deliver with some of the best in the scene.
Praeceptum begins with a face melting track titled, Draconian Induction. The riffs chug and work their way in a ferocious attack that delivers in spades. This is a very satisfying intro to this EP. Solid vocals that are just as vicious as the music itself, which is both impressive and intimidating, like a hulking behemoth ready to crush you underfoot. The guitars play back and forth between solid old school death metal riffing and noodling in between, that not only carry the overall groove of the bass and drums, that seem to be unrelenting until the final note, but help to pull you in to an immersive experience with the spacial guitar melodies that are present throughout. I can tell that this is going to be a treat for me because I am getting heavy vibes of Fallujah which are one of my favorite bands. Here's hoping that the rest of this EP keeps this assault going 'til the end.
Revelator is up next and it begins with a spacious intro that piqued my interest. Straight away I'm taken back to the first time hearing Skinless, not sure why but I'm rolling with this. A strong orchestrated and haunting theme is displayed within the riffs of this song which add a welcome layer of intrigue to an already interesting track. Tremolo blasting riffs come in to elevate this tracks overall intensity which is palpable, you can feel the sense of urgency in this track from the moment the brutal riffs come in. Revelator is seemingly a display of discernable force that doesn't play around, it's heavy and straight to the point. The vicious vocals seem to amp things up on this track with a wide range of techniques that compliment this songs quick arrangements, if the intro was any indication of the intensity that Broken Glass Sanctuary bring to the table, then this is your warning, bring a spare diaper before you press play on this EP because this song seems to step things up already as we dive deeper into Praeceptum.
In case you didn't heed my above warning, the next track, An Invoked Retribution sees Broken Glass Sanctuary continue their malicious metal assault on your senses. Carrying a nice groove throughout, An Invoked Retribution, checks all the boxes of a fantastic death metal composition. Once again I have to shout out those killer vocals, it's been awhile since I've been impressed with someone's vocal delivery. Where the guitars are seemingly in the background in certain areas on this track, the vocals, bass and drums take center stage while the orchestration keeps things nice and eerie, and it all just comes together to deliver a unique listening experience on this track. If you have been reading some of my past reviews, this track is one of those songs where I compare it to the music trying to "stalk" your senses and makes you feel on edge as the track moves this way and that, it truly is a intense song, very well done!
After that experience, we are now treated to, The Divine Construct. More of those astral guitar melodies flow throughout this song as the riffs seem to come in left and right to move this song forward. A fantastic guitar solo is on display here for your listening pleasure, and I'll just say it now, I wish there were more of those solos on this EP because they'd really lend to those melodies that are present in each song. A brake slamming break down is heard in this track that slows things down to a gut wrenching halt as the guitars, bass, and drums do their slam metal thing that accompanies more of those demonic belches as this song screeches to an end, leaving you with that uneasy feeling of teetering off the edge of a cliff, unsure of your fate.
Assimilate To Eradicate closes out this solid as stone EP. Beginning with a neck breaking riff that sets the stage for the songs overall tone and groove, this track hears Broken Glass Sanctuary build up that intensity through until the middle of the song before hitting you in the head with that groove again to close this piece out with a interesting outro that is fitting of the likes of classic gore metal. The precision playing here is drenched in those old gore metal bands but blends in more modern death metal elements, like a pseudo horror movie. A interesting way to end this EP to say the least, I honestly wish this track was a bit longer and went back in to that brutal riff work we hear in the beginning of the song before leaving us with that filthy outro, but hey, we're all critics, right?
Praeceptum was a fun and ravaging experience. Broken Glass Sanctuary seem to be on the precipice of something special here with their music, you can definitely hear elements of others within these compositions, but you can also definitely hear their own unique style in the mix, I feel that if they were to explore the possibility of letting specific riffs ride a bit longer and in some cases, bring back certain riffs in some of these songs that were really delivering the goods, it would help feel a tad more focused. That's not to say that they are not focused, these songs are tight, downright, airtight, it's just that some of the structuring had me asking questions and wondering, "what if they brought in this particular riff back to this spot of the song?" or, "man, that really should have been played a few more times, wonder why they decided not to?", these type of things, I personally feel would benefit Broken Glass Sanctuary, to appreciate a good riff and let it breathe for a bit, and if its worth revisiting in a track, let it wipe it's feet and come back inside for another visit, like the closing track, Assimilate to Eradicate for example, I think if they had worked that beginning riff in to the ending and rode it out with a fade, it would have elevated that song higher, but as I said earlier, everyone is a critic. Simple things like that I think would make this EP stellar, plus solos, a few more spots I personally felt a good solo or even a bass solo could have been added without feeling forced or out of place in a few of these songs, a couple spots I was even downright expecting a solo, but there was none to be had. One final note I need to make before I move on here is if they continue to bring in more depth that IS Broken Glass Sanctuary ITSELF in to their material, it would help them stand out even more among the many other slam metal type of bands that are flooding the scene currently, the orchestration and their nod to classic and gore metal in their arsenal of music I think is a step in the right direction here for them. Small changes can make for big things, but Broken Glass Sanctuary are definitely on to something here with Praeceptum, as it stands, I give this EP a 7.5 out of 10 and I am definitely anxious to hear what they have to offer next for us and a bit more focus on what their music truly is to them can help them rise above in the scene. You can hear this music for yourselves over on their band camp and you can show them your support by following them on their social media pages here. This EP definitely has some heavy and exhilarating moments that I believe all of you can appreciate, by no means should you let my few critiques deter you from giving their music a listen, I guarantee that you'll find something to love in these tracks they've created for all of us.
Review by Joshauh Jones, the bassist of The Obsidian Resurrection.
Good tunes! 🤘🏻