I’m sure this release is more in the realms of fellow scribe Grimulfr, however, in an attempt to broaden my black metal horizons, I made myself listen to and review the debut from this German spike and corpse paint clad trio.

There’s nothing remotely original going on here, but it is spitefully done and typically grim, with a tinny, but not grating sound that plies your expected Mark/Darkthrone inspired hymns of war, anti Christianity, disdain for all life and general unpleasantness. I have heard better (almost all their Scandinavian peers) and I’ve heard worse (country mates Torch of War).

The guitar tone is brittle yet clear and the rhythm section, though light has a presence that fits within the framework of the genre. More importantly, there are some decent (if par for the course), grazing, yet everso slightly melodic, tremolo picked riffs here that will keep most black metal fans happy; “Ad Arma” (with its thrashy mid section), “Crucify (The Scum)”, restrained march of “Interitus Christianorum” with a nice classical/orchestral bridge into the blazing “Welt In Flammen” (though I could do without the air raid sirens.

More cool, dramatic Germanic orchestration starts “Possessed by Sinister Spirits” and “Spill the Blood of Christ”, breaking up the whole sense of déjà vu that permeates the last third of the album that prevents it from being more than a middle tier, competent black metal act act. No more, no less.

[Visit the band's website]

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