Cum Mortem – The Designs of Death

After their ‘When Death…’ demo from 2024 Mexico’s Cum Mortem return with ‘The Designs of Death’, a raw Black Metal statement steeped in occult atmospheres and unrelenting darkness.

Released across multiple formats — from digital and streaming to limited edition CDs via Ars Maligne, Wulfhere Productions and cassette editions on Forbidden Files — the album’s staggered 2024/2025 rollout has given underground collectors plenty to hunt for. The band is fronted by Agares Mortem who also owns the Ars Maligne record label.

But is it worth all the fuzz? Cum Mortem’s necro sound is clearly fueled by hatred, death, depression, negativity, sadness and darkness. The music’s raw yet immersive. The production retains an uncanny lo-fi edge, but with enough clarity to let the Majestic and chilling layered tremolo riffs and ritualistic dirge of percussion breathe. Elusive fragments of synth laden pathos, a rhythm section tighter than a duck’s arse and cascade a nebula of guitars that weave a dark, grey mystery world where spirits and wraiths haunt the corners of this bleak dimension.

The songwriting leans heavily into the esoteric and death-obsessed themes. Metempsychôsis with an almost religious ceremonial pacing in certain tracks. Agares Mortem’s vocal delivery is nothing short a crackling venomous rasp, drenched in sulphur, evoking the cavernous feel of early second-wave Black Metal, in particular Greek Black Metal.

‘The Designs of Death’ doesn’t aim for accessibility — it’s a record for those who crave ritualistic, uncompromising Black Metal steeped in the underground ethos. The pacing, track lengths, and raw production demand patience, but reward it with a suffocating, immersive experience.

This for fans of early Necromantia, Mortuary Drape, Mysticum, Manes or the typical Santa Muerte cult Mexican Black Metal. Or more contemporary acts as Epitaphios, if you like.

This is a release worth seeking out — ‘The Designs of Death’ is bad mojo and it sounds unsettling, especially in its more obscure physical editions. I was immediately hooked on it anyway. Now to enslave the other souls.