Review by Felix on May 28, 2025.

First things first, Balmog is definitely a cool formation. They have a stable line-up, they release new stuff reliably and they are courageous enough to walk a pretty individual way in terms of their musical approach. Yes, they are no more the ultra-violent gang they were at the times of releases like Necroangels' Revelations, but their stylistic path has never led them into plush commercial landscapes. Consequently, Laio is not comparable with the massacres of their early days. However, people who are looking for a comfortable listening session, can go to the next exit right now. The dominating emotion on this album is horror, supported by a psychedelic undertone. This results in an unexpected conclusion. Doubtlessly, Balmog's style has nothing in common with Mercyful Fate, but if King Diamond had chosen a more adult approach, he would probably had created a similar sound. The emotional facet of Laio is not too far away from some of his works.

Musically, the band still cruises through the salty territories of their two one-track-EPs. Eve is another point of reference. Maybe the overall degree of aggression is a bit higher than on these releases. "Mud To Gold" holds some very furious parts, to give but one example. But even in its fiercest moments, Laio never appears as a typical black metal album. It holds an impressive, terrifying vastness and breathes the inspiring spirit of artistic freedom. The guitars create hellish, abyssal sounds full of dark emotions and their lines are always on target. A high yet still adequate number of breaks challenges the listener – it's not always easy to follow the songs to every lightless corner of the own soul. The tracks are not conventionally designed, but at the end of the day, Balmog have found a good balance between individuality and still comprehensible song structures. Perhaps this feature reflects their maturity most clearly.

Besides a remarkable musical depth, the album scores with homogeneity. From my point of view, it offers a drug-soaked trip – but I'm not sure, because in all honesty, I never used drugs. So maybe my description is misleading. Anyway, one thing is for sure, it is no milk-soaked music. But let's get back to the album's homogeneous appearance. The six regular tracks form a vigorous block and it is a pity that "Ortus Umbra", an intermezzo which wants to be atmospheric, hurts the flow of the album. But if I ignore a few nerve-shattering guitar tones in the actually good "Like God Who Knows", this useless miniature piece remains the only downer and a minor detail which the impact of Laio only causes insignificant damage. All in all, the fantastically produced album is always rebellious and nightmarish, never soft or cosy and full of great guitar whirlwinds. The pretty brutal "Mashalam" and the beginning of "The Silence Of The Trumpets" underline this. By the way, too bad that the silence of Trump is still a long time coming. Either way, Laio is naturally no political output, but an explosive, dark and impetuous one. The vocals also contribute to this variety of different facets. Depending on the course of the individual pieces, they sound combative, totalitarian, omniscient or majestic. So yes, Balmog, who have definitely found their own, personal niche, have released a fascinating new album which is based on a comparatively rare approach – and that's certainly another good reason to call them a cool band.

Rating: 8.1 out of 10