It’s been a decade of near inactivity since the Italian black metallers issued their debut, so nine proper tracks and the ‘Dead Mechanism’ intro are a little on the short side. That’s all rectified by the intensity, launching into ‘Last Witness’, with plenty of soloing and off-kilter guitar squeaks, with total conviction. Belched, discernible vocals don’t add much to the quality presentation afforded by this heretofore unknown Italian label.

The guitarists are the calling card here, switching effortlessly from punishing death metal to lively solos (‘Gilgamesch’, ‘The Siege’), keeping an infectious undertone to the proceedings, apart from ‘Primordial’, an atypical slow grinder. The opening to ‘Duellists’ ventures into black metal territory (especially in terms of vocals), but settles back into what Dominance do best. Try out ‘The Sailor’ at its tempo swapping best.