Review by Carl on December 24, 2022.

Man, does this album open with a great intro that transports you straight to Scandinavia in the mid 90's! A church bell tolls, crows are cawing their warning of calamity to come, while desolate winds sweep the abandoned landscape that surrounds the ruins of an ancient castle. It is exactly the type of intro a black metal album by the likes of early Immortal or Dark Funeral would have opened up with. It's an impression that gets mercilessly blown to bloody crud once the band launches into their first song.

Hellfire Deathcult projectile vomits up a punishing dose of bestial black/death metal, straight into the listener's face. You probably know the drill: with Blasphemy at the root, and other influences coming from such acts as Archgoat, Black Witchery and early Incantation, Hellfire Deathcult lash out hard. A good part of the music rages forth with blasting fury, with down-tuned riffing, machine gun percussion and gurgling vocals fighting for the listeners attention, with little to no room for unnecessary frills or hints of melody. At times the band opts for pounding slower sections as well, ensuring a certain degree of variation and tension, keeping the whole intersting throughout. For the war metal style, this is a pretty varied album, it has to be said. All this sonic barbarity comes together in a production that sounds as thick and heavy as your mom's aunt Imelda, and as a whole this album seethes with barely controlled aggression, with spot-on playing that manages to preserve the unhinged chaotic feel music like this has to emanate. Powerful stuff, this is!

Detractors of the style probably would say that this all sounds as one long song, but a seasoned listener would hear the variation in here. Hellfire Deathcult have released a well above average war metal album that in no way is reinventing the wheel, but has enough aggression and power oozing from it to convince every war metal fanatic out there. Recommended stuff!

By the way, did I already mention that the intro is pretty rad as well?

Rating: 8.5 out of 10