I love French Black Metal with every beat of my Black heart. The French have always been pretty brutal; guillotines and revolution were a way of life for many years of the country’s history. Not to mention WW1 and then occupation by the Nazis in WW2. The conflict hardened the country and unfortunately inspired a few bands in the French Black Metal underground (Kristallnacht and Seigneur Voland, I’m looking at you…) This isn’t to say there aren’t other fantastic, non-sketchy bands, Anorexia Nervosa is one that I frequently revisit.

So, fortunately not all French musicians are stuck in the 40s and Meyhnach, the heart of Mütiilation, has cobbled together another pitch black slab of hard biting Black Metal. This coming hot off the heels of his project with Suicide Circle recently.

Black Metal Cult is six deep cuts into the soul of French Black Metal, raw, unrelenting and completely blasphemous. I’m glad that Meyhnach decided to resurrect Mütiilation after apparently declaring the band dead in 2019. Black Metal Cult stabs into the heart of human emotions and the first, and title track, does this with calculated precision; a dagger to the heart of Christianity and a chain mail gauntlet to the face of society as a whole. Second track “Hominicide” is a mid-paced boom-bap song that erupts around the 1:48 mark and just keeps hitting harder and harder, the 2:58 point propelling the song forward like an armored column. Meyhnach sounds absolutely vicious on this album, his delivery on deadly point. “From the Plains of Ice and Death” has an Immortal At the Heart of Winter feel to it, like an ice and snow tornado that picks you up and throws you to the edges of sonic extremity.

“Into the Cursed Necropolis” is another foray into cosmic battles, the power of the song is elemental, a mostly Black Thrash punisher that’s so cold you might need a jacket for the 4:43 point where it gets massive, like an iceberg crawling across a frozen sea. In many ways Black Metal Cult is a comeback since their last release Sorrow Galaxies in 2007. That was an awesome swan song album if there ever was one.

“The Fall of Islam” is the longest track, clocking in at 8:48 minutes of vile hatred. Alternating between quick blasting sections before slowing down for the midsection of the song. It’s hard biting and savage, which is exactly what I want from a Mütiilation song, evil nastines.

Final track “ The Mirror of Disillusion” has a bit of an Emperor-esque riffing attack in the beginning, and that’s another thing that I love about these French musicians, because they’re as violent as their history could make them.

I really hope that Meyhnach decides to keep Mütiilation going. Black Metal Cult is a fucking beast of an album, crushing from beginning to end. This is essential for the fans that waited a long time for this moment. I urge you, constant reader to check this out and also Suicide Circle, and while you’re at it give a listen to Hats Barn and Drowning the Light. Salut le Black Metal Français !

[Visit the band's website]

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