Review by Death8699 on February 12, 2019.

For melodic black metal to occur, it needs a range of instruments to properly orchestrate an album. The Pagan Prosperity is a prime example of how this should take place. Of course not everything on this album is perfect, but the music, vocals and aura is simply captivating. It took several spins for me to come to this conclusion. Galder does everything right on this recording, creative, innovative, historic and monumental release. The only problem would be the production quality, that’s my only beef with this incredible album. It was such an experience to hear this music and solely appreciate it.

Galder isn’t well known for his abilities to play solos, but rhythms he’s a mastermind at. Entirely original sounding guitar work alongside other instruments that this album impenetrable. His vocals flow with the guitar work totally. He is truly great from this aspect and some of his vocals go along with everything in unison. The main music that includes guitars and synthesizers together simply rips. I love the rhythms the most and if he took out the solos I’d give this album a higher rating. He just doesn’t hack it when it comes to playing leads. But his creation of melodic black metal music is incredibly amazing.

The music here is totally original and sips pores into your brain and it stick in there during this entire album. One of Old Man’s Child’s best recordings. The main things that I enjoyed were the vocals alongside the guitars and synthesizers. Some of it entirely incredible to hear. It gives out an aura that is dark and desolate which suits the genre perfectly. I can’t stress enough how the guitar is so well played along with the other instruments in unison with the rest of the band. I totally respect this band’s output of simply historic music. Galder did so much good here, an amazing effort on his part.

I felt that the drums sounded a little bit flat and the bass guitar wasn’t too well heard during this release. The guitars, synthesizers and vocals mixed well together but just the snare drum was a little bit annoying. Other than that, the album in itself was simply an awesome epic release. I enjoyed it more and more that I heard of it and I’ll admit that I didn’t like this album too much when I first heard it. I thought that it was just average melodic black with no real significance in helping this genre. It took me maybe 4-5 spins before I said to myself “this album simply dominates!”

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Felix on March 10, 2020.

Another Warhammer album means nothing else but another total worship of Hellhammer. The guys with the Watchtower, Dream Theatre or Sieges Even merchandise can leave the room, they will not miss anything. An endless stream of viscous guitar leads shapes the album and the voice of Volker Frerichs sounds like that of his Swiss role model. Of course, the archaic vehemence and the initial impulse of Hellhammer cannot be reproduced in 2000, but Warhammer do their best in order to perpetuate the typical sound of the pioneers of the musical Apocalypse.

The guitarist has found the perfect way to play different riffs without different tones. Don't ask me how, but he varies the only note he plays in a very competent manner. Therefore, we can enjoy some nice lines that provide the necessary negativity, violence and repulsiveness. The Doom Messiah does not suffer from a conflict of objectives - its only aim is to create a destructive image. From my point of view, the album fulfils its purpose. Admittedly, the rumbling and dull sound is nothing for gourmets and drains some power from the guitars. But this is owed to the concept. Worship beats technology.

The band walks the thin line between being stupid imitators and honoring the legacy of the legend from Switzerland. Warhammer want to be taken seriously and there are not even the smallest signs of self-irony. To be honest, I like this dead serious mentality. Any form of humor has no place in the here created musical cosmos, because it is filled to the brim with morbid guitars, commanding vocals and drums that commute between very slow and up-tempo. If you take a handsaw with your right hand and you start to saw slowly through the bones of your left arm, you know the vibrations of this album, even if you have never lend an ear to it.

The greatest (and only) surprise of The Doom Messiah is the sacral keyboard that suddenly shows up in 'The Cruel Tendency'. It adds a slightly different mood for 30 seconds before it disappears again just as quickly. This intermezzo delivers almost an overdose of variation, but fortunately we are old enough to handle such shocking moments. Apart from this detail, Warhammer's rotten anthems stand shoulder to shoulder and form a monolithic block. That's great because the customer gets what the customer wants. Nobody can say that this album falls short of expectations, for better or for worse. Due to the lack of variation, there are neither overwhelming highlights nor throwaway tracks. Thus, things are quite easy. Fans of Hellhammer can buy this album on a blind basis.

Rating: 7.2 out of 10