Review by Aaron on March 10, 2005.

France has more than made its mark on the international Black Metal scene. Extreme kult bands such as Mutilation and Antaeus put France on the Extreme Metal map and continue to be influences on Black Metal worldwide. I bring this up as a context point because while Belef may someday join those unholy Gallic legions, Infection Purification is not going to be the album they do it with.

Starting a Black Metal band isn’t just about slapping on corpse paint and spikes and roaring about how royally cheesed off you are at Little Baby Jeebus. There’s a discipline to it that hides beneath the raw, primitive exterior. A big factor in this discipline is focus. If you’re not going to throw something completely new and original (a feat that is becoming a greater and greater challenge as Black Metal continues to evolve into divergent paths), then at least have your old school shit focused and directed. Throw your punches with surgical precision. Infection Purification gives glimpses that Belef is capable of this, however the sparseness in which they come together shows that they don’t understand it at this point. I don’t hear a band here, I hear five guys playing at the same time. They obviously know how to play their instruments, however the majority of the album consists of an unproductive dissonance that doesn’t give an indication of a unified attempt on the part of the band to play together. They’ve got the savagery and the passion, but it’s not directed for any amount of time that would create a genuine emotional response in the listener. A few more months making the rough edges harder and at least acknowledging as a band where the mutually agreed upon rough edges are would’ve made this a devastating album. Instead it just goes into the “Nice try, better luck next time,” bucket.

Overall, Belef stands to come out with a very devastating sound if they can get their group dynamics together. As it stands right now, Infection Purification leaves me feeling limp.

Musicianship: 6
Atmosphere: 5
Production: 6
Originality: 4
Overall: 4

Rating: 5 out of 10

Review by Adam M on August 23, 2010.

A Black Metal release that has a bit of everything in it is to be found here. There’s a symphonic quality that enraptures, but also a natural Black Metal flavour that gives the album authenticity. It creates a rich sound that is unique to Arketh’s brand of metal music. If one had to compare them to a band, however, they are somewhat similar to Emperor. There’s purity and passion to be found here that elevates the music a couple of extra notches. It would be slightly less compelling without the amount of effort the band puts forth.

The music is certainly melodic, but it’s also relatively raw as well. This should please both fans of more true Black Metal as well as those looking for something a little more adventurous. It has enough of a varied tone to appeal to a wide variety of listeners. Songs tend to be quite long to give the band the opportunity to add extra dimensions to their sound. It could be interpreted that the tracks are a little overdone, but they generally seem to remain pretty focused. There’s even an addition of female vocals to the usual Black Metal variety on some moments of the disc and they add colour.

Their epic nature is shown well in the final track 'Upon The Golden Walls Of Dreaming' that has enough twists and changes to keep you enthralled for a while. The remainder of the tracks also manage to add enough shifting charisma to keep you occupied. Though there are symphonic elements, there are also enough pure Black Metal portions to make this appeal to a variety of different kinds Black Metal fans. IX & I:The Quintessence Of Algaresh is a solid release.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 7.5
Atmosphere: 8
Production: 7
Originality: 8
Overall: 7.9

Rating: 7.7 out of 10