Review by JD on August 20, 2009.

D.Y.I punk stylings meets darkened Black Metal? Hmm, something does not hold water here. Two very different styles of music colliding, melting together and leaving the remnants to form a band?? I am intrigued.

This is very basic, sometimes brutal Black Metal that is at the core of it all...plainly nasty. It is true Black Metal sounding to a point... but it seemed to lack a certain thing that makes Black Metal... well... Black Metal. It’s the punkish overtones on the album that seems not to be jiving with the whole atmosphere.

Unlike the undisputed Godfathers of Black Metal, Venom (who used raw punk influences so good) Infernal Stronghold seems to sputter, falter with the use of punk... but does not die. It is true that they are a fairly good band, but need to shift there fiendish ways to eliminate the dreaded anchor that is punk (the bad lyrics tend to do that). Unlike the Dark Godfather’s use of Punk music, "Godless Noise" limps along like a blind hooker with a wooden leg on a no where street. It goes nowhere.

I need to be fair and say that the album does have some teeth to it... but that does not sugar coat the fact that they need to learn how to actually make their music as loathsome as they intent was.

They say there is no ‘bullshit’ on the album (according to their bio)... I beg to really differ with their sense of self. While there may be real promise on this little silver disk they have released, but it still has some things that really smells funky through the flowers. Infernal Stronghold hopefully will mature start to see this... they have the tools already, by what I hear to be a top Black Metal act... they need to get rid of baggage of Punk that drags the band down like a large rock does to a drowning man.

Categorical Rating Breakdown　

Musicianship:5
Atmosphere: 4
Production: 4
Originality: 4
Overall: 5.5

Rating: 4.5 out of 10