Review by Carl on June 21, 2023.

Take one look at that album cover, and if you can't guess what to expect immediately, you can skip this review altogether, because this is not going to be for you. Sincerely, your gatekeeping arsehole reviewer.

There are no prizes for guessing what these guys play. A red logo on a black and white drawing of a goat's head and bullet belts with "Satan" in big letters on the front, that's not gonna sound like Phil Collins teaming up with Adele and Coldplay to write the world's most boring song, now is it? Imagine Black Witchery and Archgoat teaming up, with a pinch of earliest Incantation added, and that's really all that there is to say. The guitars sound like meth-fueled swarms of psychotic hornets, underpinned by a battering barrage of percussion and a gravel-throated roar dropped on top of that. The songs alternate between either ferocious rage propelled by blast beats aplenty, or else slow down to a crushing crawl that would have any garden snail remarking to pick up the pace. Wrapped into a raw but powerful production, that could perhaps have used some more guitar and bass, this stuff hits the bestial black/death spot without fail, and even in this overcrowded microverse, this holds up well enough to convince any satanic punter out there.

Thus remains the fact that this sounds like pretty much everyone else in that niche world. I don't really mind that, but at the same time I get this "here comes another one" feeling from it. Still, being the above average release it is, I find it well worth the time. In a scene that relies on bloodthirsty aggression first and foremost, it sure delivers on that front, while sounding equally as menacing as the better releases out there, even if the sound quality slightly goes up and down throughout the album. Other than that, nothing but praise and a sweet peck on the cheek for these guys.

Besides, no one bats an eyelid at the legion of Elvis impersonators out there, so why would anyone take offense at yet another war metal act, right?

Rating: 7.5 out of 10