I had never heard these guys before I got this disc and I am rather mad at myself because of it. This is some really good primal black metal, though it doesn’t sound the least bit primitive. By that I mean it doesn’t have a truly awful production that many seem to think is the mark of a great album. Personally I like to hear the music and not just a storm of fuzz that claims to be a guitar. They don’t go for a sterile production by any stretch but you can actually hear the effort put into the songwriting instead of having it buried. I really wish Emperor would have gotten this production with In the Nightside Eclipse because this is what Flesh Inferno reminds me of.

The vocals are very similar to the vicious rasp of Ihsahn and the leads seem to pay heavy tribute to him and Samoth. The keyboards however give this a somewhat different feel in that they seem to invoke Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk more. It’s odd to say this but in combining parts of those two Emperor albums they manage to stand apart from them though the influence is obvious. They combine the faster passages with well timed ambient slowdowns to a devastating effect. The faster passages are also notable as they are to my recollections devoid of blast beats. I like the fact that they aren’t trying to rely on any one element of the music overpowering the rest of the songs. They know they have quite a bit to offer on all fronts and go with it. This is a smart move by a smart band. There is also the fact this album can’t really be taken in all at once. I liked it the first time I heard it but wasn’t crazy for it, but the more I hear it the better it gets. They also like to combine random spoken passages that scare the hell out of me. Is this an innovative record no, but a damn good one that keeps getting better with every listen.

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