Blutsabbath, Belphegor’s second release [originally issued in 1997 -Editor], has a much more noticeable Black Metal presence than its predecessor The Last Supper. Whereas the vocals on that album were primarily brutal Death grunts, the vox on this effort are mostly Black Metal shrieks. The material, overall, is similar to that of Marduk or Dark Funeral. Of course, there is still that raw, primitive brutality and relentless speed that was present on the first release. This is probably my least favorite of Belphegor’s three albums, but that’s simply because I prefer Death Metal to Black Metal. This is still a heavy motherfucker of an album though, and I would strongly suggest buying all of this band’s releases.

Took enough labels to get this released in the good old USA, huh? God damn. Anyway, this is another great Black/Death Metal release from the mighty Behemoth. Awesome production and so on. You know the story. The US version also has four bonus tracks and fairly reduced packaging to make up for them, I guess.

Considering that Quorthon is supposed to have lost much of his hearing due to an unfortunate incident involving Deicide, the Animal Militia and a bomb, this is a surprisingly good album. I wouldn’t call it his greatest achievement yet but it isn’t a dog by a long shot. The material on this album skirts the edges of Hammerheart / Blood on Ice and the Requiem / Octagon eras and includes songs that could fit in on any of those albums - at least musically. The thing that makes this such a mixed bag is that there is really no unifying theme in the musical department. On Blood on Ice, it was a concept album with all the Viking mythos and atmosphere from Hammerheart and a more epic theme. Requiem and Octagon were more Thrash / Death Metal oriented and contained more guitar-based songs. Destroyer of Worlds seems to have a concept but it doesn’t have a story involved. All of the lyrics are war related and explore different eras of warfare, from the old sword and axe carnage to the current guns and cruise missiles. As a whole, Destroyer of Worlds may not satisfy the “ancient Bathory is better” and the “Twilight of the Gods fucking rules, you’re just too stupid to understand it” crowds. It’s good music and it’s still Bathory. That’s enough for me.

Yasuyuki Suzuki (aka Barbatos) is back, this time with a solo album. Most of you Black Metallers out there will recognize his name from his other band, Abigail. This album just reeks of old Venom, Bathory and more than a little Punk Rock (not Hardcore, just Punk like X, The Ramones or The Sex Pistols). In other words, this is an album that is so old-school that it could only come from Japan. The song lyrics are pure sex, alcohol and killing shit anthems that make some pretty humorous reading. Musically, this is fast, furious and has a lot of old Punk feeling, much like Abigail. This isn’t the greatest, but it is very true to the older feeling of Metal from back in the early ‘80s. The only tracks that deviate from this are the final two, which have a sound completely different from the rest of this CD. I don’t know why they were included, but by themselves, they’re good. They just don’t have anything in common with the rest of the album when it comes to music. I enjoyed this album more for the nostalgia element than anything else and though I liked it, it isn’t something I would listen to regularly. The last two tracks aside, this is as retro as you’re going to get when it comes to old-school balls-out Thrash Metal.

This is an amazing piece of Power Metal with an all-star lineup including Jens Ludwig (Edguy) and Henjo Richter (Gamma Ray) on guitars, Markus Grosskopf (Helloween) on bass, and Alex Holzwarth (Rhapsody) on drums. Guest-vocalists include Rob Rock (Impellitteri), Kai Hansen (Gamma Ray), Sharon Den Adel (Within Temptation), and Andre Matos (Angra). The Metal Opera is an epic fantasy tale that features brilliant vocal-performances and blazing guitar-melodies backed by a barrage of flawless drumming. The band’s strong song-writing abilities give this effort a well-rounded feel, and the razor-sharp production brings the music to life in vivid color. This is easily one of the best Power Metal releases to come out in the last couple of years. Fans of any of the above-mentioned bands are advised to pick this up immediately!

See the review for Lost Atlantis. I didn’t like this quite as much, though…

I don’t like a lot of Gothic Metal, but this reissue of Artrosis’s 1998 second album isn’t too bad. It doesn’t have the aggressive drumming of a band like Darkwell, but there is some heaviness and a few interesting riffs here and there amid all the sweetness and girly vocals. I would have preferred a concentration on the heavier moments and the juxtaposition of the vocals thereto, but fans of chick singers and melodic Metal might very well appreciate this.

This is the full-length debut album for this rather disturbed bunch of Black/Death Metallers. Of course, “disturbed” is a relative term, but for those of us who don’t particularly enjoy bondage/S&M, I’d classify our leather-masked friends in this band as being a bit on the loony side. Call me a wuss if you want, I don’t find the concept of getting my skin flayed off while having sex to be very appealing. Musically, this is some fairly competent Black/Death Metal that sort of reminds me of several bands but not enough to draw a direct comparison. That’s a good thing. Whenever I can say that you don’t sound exactly like another better known band, you’re on the right track. I can hear a little Morbid Angel, a little Darkthrone and maybe a little Cannibal Corpse in their sound but as I said before, Arkhon Infaustus sounds similar without directly copying someone else’s style. There are also elements of Industrial here and there (particularly in the last track) which adds even more distinctiveness to their style. The production and sound on Hell Injection is also light years away from their debut EP, In Sperma Infernum. That EP sounded absolutely horrible and when you compare it to this album, it almost sounds like a completely different band. Osmose really scored with this band because if there was this much progress between their first release and this album, then I’m really interested in hearing what they’re going to sound like on their next release.

The forging of melodic Swedish Death Metal and Hardcore has reached a plateau untouchable by most in the suicidal beauty of Darkest Hour. At the Gates and Dissection meets Morning Again, and if that only came close to summing up the total package here. I could write volumes praising this band’s aggressive majesty and grace, but for the sake of space, I assure you wholeheartedly, this is absolutely essential.