Review by Felix on February 19, 2022.

At the latest since the releases of albums such as "Hvis Lyset Tar Oss" or "Storm of the Light's Bane", we all know that also more or less confused minds can create great music. Of course, some scatterbrains will never write a good song. I do not want to mention names in this context. This would be unfair against Joey DeMaio. However, Rob Darken has talked a lot of nonsense, but his musical competencies remained unaffected. Immortal Pride supports this conclusion. It is a coherent album that conveys a medieval, ritualistic and sublime atmosphere. You are listening to a full-length which is characterised by symphonic parts. But due to their dark and almost religious aura, Darken's effort has nothing in common with the outputs of other groups that have an affinity for orchestral sounds. Dimmu Borgir has to stay out.

Seagulls squawk and majestic, slow melodies set in. Immortal Pride opens up the possibility of diving into a long forgotten time. The songs seem to be forged in fire. By the sweat of his brow, an old man has apparently produced them. Although the keyboards are of major importance, the compositions do not include any kind of easiness. The guttural voice of Darken as well as the primitive yet effective background chorals reflect the cold-hearted mindset of a resolute warrior. The epic 'Sons Of Fire And Steel' is the first of two monumental pieces. It reveals an exciting sequence of different melodies that flow seamlessly into each other. Its grandeur mixes with the feelings that are evoked by an approaching armed conflict. The battle begins with the outro - yes, the track has its own outro - after 19 well-designed minutes of pagan metal. The Valkyries come in and lead the fallen heroes to Valhalla.

Although the keyboards sound a little bit synthetic, the well balanced mix can largely be regarded as successful. In accordance with the musical approach, the production does not focus on an overdose of harshness. It possesses this certain archaic touch that fits the requirements of the artistic intention.

Compared with 'Sons Of Fire And Steel', the subsequent 'Sacrifice For Honour' is a miniature track with a playtime of "only" 16 minutes. Due to its higher percentage of more aggressive parts, the black metal past of Graveland shimmers through the compositional approach. Both short drum attacks and clumsy guitars leave their scent. Intensity is not missing and Darken's song-writing skills are demonstrated once again.

The final number offers mysterious keyboards lines. When they come to an end, fanfares herald the victory of the pagan warriors. The length of the outro - extensive seven minutes - seems to be too opulent, but we must view this piece in the full context of the full-length. I agree with the colleague who wrote that the album is more than the sum of its parts. Its concept works. So take the time to explore the fascination of Immortal Pride. You will not regret it.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Vladimir on April 24, 2023.

It’s time to revisit an old relic from the past, which is a band I covered probably for the first time ever when I started doing reviews last year. The band I am talking about is Sodomy, a black/thrash/punk metal band from Brazil, which was originally a one-man band by Kadu Necro Defunto, but as of this year, two members Celtic (bass) and Krakör (vocals) joined the lineup, while Kadu moved on from vocal and all instrumental duties to guitars and drums. I harshly criticized Sodomy when the demo Bleed Like A God was released on December 9th, 2022, mostly due to the fact that the low pitch-shifted vocals on that demo were not well done and that the songs weren’t all that good either. As of April 14th, 2023, their self-titled debut album Sodomy was released on digital streaming platforms, with a total of 9 tracks. Although I was hesitant to revisit this band, I decided to give it a second chance to see if it has improved since the last time.

The first track 'Under The Symbols Of Satan' begins with an eerie sound of demonic screaming and an open E string struck on the bass guitar, somewhat resembling the song “Witching Hour” by Venom. After that, it starts black-thrashing on the drums and guitars, with a harsh shrieking vocal nicely adding its satanic chants to this mayhemic destruction. The drums also throw in some sick blast beats for a brief second somewhere around the last half, which was a nice touch and pure embodiment of Brazilian extreme metal. The second track 'From The Dust' provides some speed metal and punk elements to this black-thrashing madness, while the vocals add some shouting next to the demonic shrieks. The third track 'Necronomicon - Ex Mortis' starts off in a bit doomy manner, but then suddenly the blast beats start tearing everything apart, while the guitars add some raw melodic guitar lines here and there. I really like the inclusion of 'Massacra' cover by Hellhammer as the eighth track, right before the album is concluded with an outro track 'Speedpanzer' that has some demonic narration and howling winds. In comparison to the band’s demo, this is much more dynamic and refined in terms of songwriting and overall execution. Although it’s mostly black-thrashing from start to finish, there are also some instances of speed metal, punk and I’d say war metal as well, giving this a stronger punch and testosterone with the addition of tremolo riffs and blast beats. The album as a whole is pretty much first wave of black metal oriented, inspired by the likes of Venom, Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, Bathory, Sarcofago etc., giving a nice throwback and a love letter to those bands. The album’s sound production is pretty raw like it was recorded as a demo via a cassette recorder, which isn’t actually a bad thing, but rather a well-thought out and well-handled decision that makes this an authentic experience. The sound production at times reminded me a bit of Mayhem’s "Deathcrush", but I am not sure if this is just me or an actual thing I caught up on during my listening.

This album was exactly how I expected Sodomy to sound like when I came across the demo Bleed Like A God, which really boggles my mind as to why it wasn’t like this for the first time since it’s definitely an improvement and a huge step up for the band. Honestly, it doesn’t feel like we’re talking about the same band, since the difference between that demo and this album is like day and night. Sodomy really outdid themselves and this album was indeed a huge surprise for me. Although far from perfect, the album does provide a nice glare to where the band will be heading from now on. It’s safe to say that this album is indeed a nice throwback and a love letter to the first wave of black metal, especially to all those cult bands which I mentioned earlier. I am not sure if the band read my review from back in the day, but if so, I must appreciate the fact that the band seems open for criticism and that they decided to change things for the better this time. The addition of two members really brought the band to a better place, and I am certain that they’ll bring some more necromayhemic and bestial black/speed metal for the world to hear. A huge respect and support for Sodomy!

Rating: 7 out of 10