Belphegor are back with another slab of vicious and dark death metal. The band definitely covers a lot of ground and for a genre that can be quite one dimensional, the band definitely is not. Imagine a darker Morbid Angel mixed with evil thrash and a hint more sinister melody. The songwriting runs the gamut from tremolo picked Florida style riffs to melodic runs that emphasis octave chords. They also seem to have just a slight Nile influence, but of course much darker and without any of the Egyptian scales. Of course because of the black metal influence running throughout the album blast beats are quite common, but the vocals are not really typical of black metal influenced music. They are a throaty roar that sometimes falls into more of a black metal screech. Both styles are equally powerful and handled just as well. I’m not sure if anyone was worried that the band might change a bit when they signed to Nuclear Blast, but one listen to this album will make you realize that the band is as extreme as they have ever been. The songwriting is a bit stronger this time around and I think the songs are probably the most memorable the band has ever written. Fans of black metal, death metal and everything in between if you haven’t checked out Belphegor yet, now is the perfect time.

4/5 Skulls Unbound Zine.com Canada