Review by Carl on April 18, 2022.

In my opinion (which, honestly, doesn't account for all that much) Slaughter Messiah are currently the best band Belgium has to offer. Their combination of black -, thrash - and death metal just ticks all the right boxes with me, and is of a far more genuine brand than some other bands playing in the same ballpark. I already owned their previous EP's, but still I was more than happy to see this compilation coming, because of the inclusion of two rare demo's included. I was not disappointed.

As stated above, Slaughter Messiah combine primitive styles of black/thrash and death metal. Imagine a beefed-up version of old German noisemongers such as early Protector, Deathrow and Kreator, with blastbeats and harsh black metal shrieks added, and there are even a few moments that made me think of Repulsion, Hellhammer, Messiah and early Cryptic Slaughter as well. Besides the reverence for the gods of old, there is also the influence of Mayhem's "De Mysteriis..." album present, especially noticeable in the guitar work at times, but I was reminded of early Dark Funeral and the first couple of Enthroned albums too. Not remotely surprising, of course, that Lord Sabathan's former band would shine through in the music of Slaughter Messiah. His characteristic rasp was a major part of Enthroned, and is sorely missed nowadays. A special mention should go out to the track 'N.W.O.B.H.M. (New Wave Of Belgian Heavy Metal)', where the riffing recalls old UK heavy metal commando units like Jaguar, Avenger and (who else but) Venom, filtered through a black/thrash metal lens, which sounds totally awesome.

The songs themselves are pretty varied compositions, brimming with a malevolent atmosphere of occult hatred that seems to be forgotten in a lot of contemporary black(ish) metal. These songs rip, tear and pound in the best underground tradition, utilizing thrashing polka beat rage alternating with blast beat-driven mayhem, while colliding with the furious riffing and leads, but the band just as easily build in slower, heavier parts to keep proceedings varied. Perhaps playing isn't always super-tight, but this adds to the old school atmosphere the music exudes, while all is kept aggressive throughout.

Because this is a compilation of different recordings and releases, the overall sound tends to shift somewhat between the songs, but isn't really noticeable until the last four tracks. These make up the first demo, and sound more primitive and crude, like the band was still toeing the water, but the ingredients that make up the Slaughter Messiah sound are already there. The Terrorizer cover is pretty unexpected, but doesn't feel out of place and actually fits in great, given the hectic black/thrash approach.

This is a great compilation, giving an excellent overview of the band's progress up to their full length (which is also very much worth your time). Some tracks are present twice in differing versions, and 72 minutes is a heavy load to take all at once perhaps, but digested in chunks this is still a banging release that I can recommend to all fans of old school tinged musical extremism.

New Wave Of Belgian Heavy Metal indeed!

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Denis on December 26, 2002.

Many of you have been waiting for quite a while to have a new album from the Limbonic Artists. Many of you have heard a lot of good things regarding this band. Maybe, if you are like me, you may never have had a chance to hear any music from them up until now. Well, for all of the above-mentioned folk, the wait is over. This is it folks! It has finally come to reality, the latest and long awaited for work from Daemon and Morfeus and I don't believe anyone who's into any type of metal can seriously say that this is not very good and still be able to sleep at night or look at him or herself in a mirror any more!

The magic of this album lies in its schizophrenic personality. Yes indeed, it is a multifaceted recording and no matter what angle you look at it, you'll find something for your liking. So what about the music that can be found on this CD? A bit hard to describe but I can say that it is an impressive blend of black metal with a powerful rhythmic section, progressive arrangements, great keyboards and a voice that will haunt you wherever you may try to hide.

The definitive highlight of this album is the trilogy on tracks 3, 4 and 5. Starting with 'Purgatorial Agony', being like a horror movie soundtrack with a dark electronic intro, samplings, screams, sadistic spoken words all of this creating a horrifying mood. Thus leading you right 'Towards the Oblivion of Dreams'; weapons samplings, dark keys, voices and sadistic laughter but that's only the beginning since the following elements are just about to enter: the keyboards partitions turns symphonic, the voices are screaming, awesome doom riffs make their appearance, the percussion is super fast. This madness stops briefly for something great and scary before the speed mode resumes, taking on some kind of progressive personality. At around 4:50, the pace is slower and more doom oriented with a church like organ giving a solemn darkness to the opus. Then it's the return of the fast mode, this time involving sound effects like an electronic machine gun during a progressive instrumental frenzy. To conclude this incredible number, our artists used some amazing black vocals, slower and scarier passages and more sound effects. This great number is the meat of the sandwich between number three and five. 'Last Rite for the Silent Darkstar' is topping it all off with a good share of dark electronics, samplings and scary voices.

Bottom Line: Worship the ultimate death artists.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 10
Atmosphere: 9
Originality: 9
Production: 10
Overall: 9

Rating: 9.4 out of 10