Sothis breaks the barrier for being a black metal band from Los Angeles, not some far corner of Europe. This unit’s nine-track affair, produced by Andy LaRocque, captures the nefarious nuances of the genre without too much interference, allowing  the malevolent interplay between atmospheric keyboards, thunderous drums, and rapid-fire riffs to reap full benefit on cuts like “Beneath a Black Boiling Sky” and the mauling mid-tempo scowl of “Obsidian Throne.” Genuinely grim and convincingly vicious, songs like the haunting “The Cold Disconnection” and “Perpetual” demonstrate this squad’s penchant for pummeling with evil intent, making DE OPRESSO LIBER an album for habitants of the dark side to seek out. www.candlelightrecordsusa.com -Mike SOS