Gorgoroth - Under the Sign of Hell 2011
These Norwegian Black Metal mainstays have never really done anything for me. They’ve been at it since 1992 and I couldn’t tell you how a single one of their songs go. It seems their most memorable aspects happen off record. Whether it be band member suicides, legal disputes, lineup turbulence, incarcerations, band member homicides, or dudes fucking dudes, the tabloid headlines seem to outweigh the actual material by far. Now they’ve gone the Dimmu Borgir route and re-recorded one of their old albums. Well, at 26 minutes this is more like an EP, but that’s a whole different argument. What I’m hearing here is nothing like I faintly remember Gorgoroth sounding like back in the day. This is essentially Blackened Thrash with your basic, traditional Black Metal vocals and a super clean production. It isn’t terrible, but I don’t hear any pain whatsoever. The riff with one minute left on “Funeral Procession” is more like it, but not nearly enough. There’s some kind of homosexual Viking thing going on with “Profetens Apenbaring” that the slow, cult arrangement in “Odeleggelse og Undergang” just barely makes up for. Still, when compared to my strict Suicidal Depressive Black Metal diet, this is some fairly happy, lightweight shit. It isn’t until the last song, the galloping blasphemy of “The Devil Is Calling,” that pure aural darkness is finally achieved. I can now officially say I like one Gorgoroth song. Kind of pathetic considering the two decade long career though, wouldn’t you say?
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