Deconstructing Sequence - Tenebris Cosmicis Tempora

 Deconstructing Sequence is a black metal band with its origins from both England and Poland.  The band formed in 2012; their latest album, “Tenebris Cosmicis Tempora,” is their second full-length album, in addition to having two EPs under their belt as well. 

I was not familiar with this band before receiving the promo but goddam do they have my attention now!  From the first song to the last, “Tenebris Cosmicis Tempora,” is an exhilarating ride that never lets up. There is definitely a progressive approach to the album but it’s razor sharp and this side of the band only adds to the furious nature of their pedigree.  

This multifaceted nature to the band’s blackened approach is what makes the album so appealing.  On one hand, this album can be taken at face value—--and you can have a rip roaring, hellride with optimum head banging.  On the other hand, this is an album with a lot of depth and one that can easily take the listener onto a journey that requires multiple listens. 

“Tenebris Cosmicis Tempora,” sounds absolutely amazing too—black metal doesn’t have to be raw with the production of someone farting into a toy microphone.  The details of this album, the nooks and crannies, the little intricacies that lie around its dark corners, are much better explored because they can be heard through the chaos and the noise. 

The atmosphere is spacey and alien.  The cold textures of their musical void rips and tears at the soul, a deep understanding of the weakness of all things within the universe—and their inevitable destruction.  

The first song, “A Journey Through the Event Horizon,” is immediately harrowing and gripping.  It batters with incredible speed while subtle synths add layers that serve as legitimate pieces of this maddening puzzle instead of distractions or fillers.  The halfway point sees the riffs opening up a bit with a surprisingly catchy cadence of blackened screams and just enough melody to make it all memorable. 

The urgency of “Wulfsige Walbend,” just might make you get up in anticipation because it gets the heart pumping and the blood boiling.  The drums pull off being atmospheric, constantly building to a rising action that ends in an explosive concoction of brutal riffs and vocals with a guitar tone that would make Emperor themselves take notice.  

The album only growls more deep and eerily majestic as it moves towards the halfway point.  “Cyber Angels - Masters of Oppression," seems almost regal in the beginning but there is something to be said for how searing moments of this song are.  The riffs are dizzying and like being in a trance of torture.  Once again, the synths keep the world building up even as the black metal rips it apart. 

One of my favorite songs, if not my favorite, is "Ethereal Descent Into Chaos.” The opening seconds seem so hopeless and destitute.  The build up from the drums almost made me feel nervous—what is going to happen in this song?  I’ll tell you what happens: Ghostly, ghastly, black metal that screams into the void….and it screams back out of fear.  

The final song, “Igniting the Skies of Creation,” is another favorite of mine on the album—its melodic layers are too infectious to ignore.  The synths are weird but in a good way—no matter what ideas the band uses that are from outside the box, they never forget their roots and always deliver the raw power of black metal. 

Deconstructing Sequence’s “Tenebris Cosmicis Tempora,” is one of the albums that can compete with whatever you think the best black metal album of the year was for 2025.  Unfortunately, I heard it too late to consider it for my own list but this is definitely an album I won’t soon forget, regardless. 

Rating:  Excellent