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Rapture

Finland Country of Origin: Finland

1. Palace Of The Fading Light
2. The Trance Of Empyrean
3. Angeli Cruciatus (May Angels Come)
4. Exorcismus
5. Blessings From The Funeral Pyre
6. The Black Shrine Offering
7. Abomination
9. Crown Of Fire
10. NemA
1. Penis Et Circes
2. 6th Degree Mindfuck
3. Iron Fist With An Iron Will
4. Angel Rectums Do Bleed
5. We're Satan's Generation
6. Goatvomit And Gasmasks
7. Fallout Theory In Practice
8. Healers Of The Red Plague
9. The Pillory
10. The Return Of Nuclear Gods
11. Vitutation
12. JCS
13. Inbred
14. Phallus Maleficarum


Review by Brian on January 14, 2014.

US black metal has always got a bad rap. I don't know if that's because they don't come from the frigid land of Norway, or if they're not "trve" or "kvlt' enough, or maybe some other reason entirely that some purest has to educate me on. However, over the past few years I have paid special attention to USBM and have found some really special albums. Nachtmystium's Black Meddle series, Krallice's self-titled debut and Social Disservices from Panopticon have found there way into my steady rotation. Let's not forget about Inquisition who have gained quite a following over the last several years. USBM is doing just fine and in fact is producing some of the more memorable bands of the genre lately.

This brings me to Helgardh. Hailing from the Appalachian Mountain town of Bluefield, West Virgina, comes another solid US black metal band. Their debut album The Black Flame Descent, although not groundbreaking, displays some well crafted, well produced black metal. This is not "post" or "gaze", but rather traditional black metal in the vein of modern Gorgoroth and At the Heart of Winter era Immortal. Plenty of tremolo picking, semi-melodic riffs, smooth double bass drums, and the gutteral, grim vocal stylings of frontman Famine make The Black Flame Descent listenable and quite enjoyable.

The sound here is the signature black metal sound. No gimmicks, no fluff and no need to add any other descriptions to describe the music. In a time where bands shy away from being just black metal, Helgardh wears the label with pride. They also wear corpse paint, leather and spikes and make no apologies for it. There really isn't much filler here and is pretty solid throughout it's ten tracks. "Blessings from the Funeral Pyre" begins with a riff that could have been leftover from Sons of Northern Darknes and moves into a Gorgoroth-esc melody. The vocals move from tradiotnal higher shrieks to lower growls. Famine delivers a near flawless vocal performance on the album. "Abomination" is another stand out track, beginning with a classic Mayhem vibe, then moving to blistering fast riff and culminating perfect mix of Immortal and Gorgoroth. "Etheral Dawn" is the albums best track. The references that I made above hold true. The classic black metal melodies and drums that you just can't help but bob your head to. The vocals here are very reminiscent of Gaahl's finer moments on Incipit Satan.

If you like traditional black metal, with great production than this album is for you. The production here is so thick and full. Every instrument is placed perfectly in the mix. The vocals are not buried so far beneath the music that you can barely hear them nor are they out in front that they bury the music. The drums pop and thump sounding absolutely amazing. The guitar tone is so rich and crisp. This great production helps to bring out the musical ability of the band. These guys can play and do it with heart. These mountain men create some cold and devastating black metal and put another notch on the belt of the current USBM scene.

Categorical Rating Brakedown

Musicianship: 8.5
Atmosphere: 7.5
Production: 10
Originality: 7
Overall: 8

Rating: 8.2 out of 10



To purchase: CD or Digital

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Review by Felix on June 18, 2023.

Once Impaled Nazarene came out of the blue and out of the zoo (remember their formidable intermezzos on their debut). They did not need much time to release an all-time classic, at least from my point of view. “Ugra Karma” was, still is and will ever be a true milestone. Nine reviews with an average of 91% speak a clear language. Too bad that the gang did never reach this form again. Only every now and then, they served up a song that could compete with the material of their discography’s highlight. “Rapture” houses one of these songs. I am speaking of “6th Degree Mindf**k”.

Its lyrics are lovely as always (“First degree, one simple step, just burn your skin with a cigarette“ – the following degrees are very pleasant as well) and honestly speaking, the general song structure does not differ from the other songs. However, here they use their formula truly masterly. Despite its almost pathological insanity, this mindf**k is catchy, furious and intoxicating. There are more songs that leave their aroma, „Iron Fist with an Iron Will“ or „Healers of the Red Plague“. All of them are based on brute, punk-drenched rawness and those who expect a certain atmosphere will be disappointed. Impaled Nazarene just hammer on the head of everyone who stands in their way. They are successful in doing so, but this monotonous way of proceeding is not the most interesting spectacle.

Lyric-wise, the band borders on self-parody. We learn new things about rectums, a certain phallus and, naturally, goatvomit and gasmasks. How exciting! Some may find it funny, I think it’s a bit stupid. And this word also comes to my mind when I have to say something about the musical approach. „Rapture“ does not suffer from a lack of energy and the uncompromising attitude deserves respect, but this is no excuse for a completely one-dimensional celebration of murderous velocity. Okay, I would not call the album stupid in its entirety, because the single songs usually reach a solid (sometimes good) level. Nevertheless, I ask myself whether minimalist riffing and robotic drumming are really the last word on the subject. Especially the lack of atmosphere is regrettable. “Ugra Karma” demonstrated that total violence and a creepy mood are not mutually exclusive (“Cyber Christ”).

And what about Mika Luttinen? Well, he screams and screams and screams. Furthermore, he screams. Does his one-pitch-approach reflect his limitation or his dedication? I don’t know. At the end of the day, the material does not profit from his performance, but he also does not ruin the songs. By the way, there is exactly one song that breaks out of the high-velocity-and-nothing-else motto. Significantly, it’s the closer. Too bad that its riffs are rather boring. Anyway, despite its somewhat flat and emotionless production and the aforementioned deficiencies, “Rapture” does not fall through the net. It’s no masterpiece, but some songs are well done and spread a beastly vitality – even 25 years after its release. (And I am sure the band loves the score of my rating.)

rating: 6.9 out of 10

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