Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
(4.5 stars) The real deal, January 14, 2007
How many times have you - an extreme metal fan - bought a new C.D. and listened to it with anticipation only to discover you've already heard the album a countless number of times before? Considering how much really unoriginal music there is in the world today, it's safe to say that that has probably happened to you at least a few times. However, you may have also noticed that some unoriginal albums are better than others, and you can even have so much fun listening to an album that you forget how many times you've already heard it. The reason for this is simple: Musical delivery counts for almost everything.
Case in point: Norwegian black metal quartet Gorgoroth. Their seventh full length, last year's "Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam," breaks absolutely no new ground for the band or the genre, but the fact is it rocks incredibly hard, energetically, and convincingly, so it's nearly impossible for one to care if it isn't particularly unique.
These eight compositions are the real deal, folks: evil black metal through and through. And even though there are more than a few bands playing this type of music nowadays, Gorgoroth can definitely still do it better than most. Almost nobody even comes close to these masters for successfully combining crushing heaviness, quality songwriting, impeccable musicianship, and steadfast consistency. Plus, "Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam" features some nice, meticulous textures and dynamics, so it is substantially hookier and easier to digest, and less predictable and one-dimensional than the typical black metal release.
Frost (A.K.A. Kjetil-Vidar Haraldstad), the seminal black metal skinsman who is world-renowned for his godly talent, appears here on his first Gorgoroth album since he left the band in 1996. He makes his presence known right away, too, by launching into a barrage of persistent, smashing, octo-limbed, carnage-inducing blast beats on the fierce set opener "Wound Upon Wound." Most of the rest of these songs are equally as brutal, but they're interspersed with restrained, more melodic numbers so the disc doesn't become monotonous. For instance, after the next track, "Carving a Giant," grinds to a close, "God Seed (Twilight of the Idols)," storms onto the scene with breakneck speed, and Gaahl's hideous, retching vocals go to battle against Frost's walloping trapkit and Infernus' scalding, revved-up guitar leads. Other highlights include the crunching, ultra-doomy guitars and melodic (almost choral) backing vocals on the bone-chilling "Sign of an Open Eyes," Frost's bottom-heavy, jackhammer double bass kicks that anchor "White Seed," the ridiculously fast blasts, machine gun riffs, and softly strummed outro of "Exit," and "Untamed Forces," which contrasts almost grindcore-worthy brutality (i.e. great, massive riffs, smoking leads, busy, slamming drums, bludgeoning rhythms, attack-the-jugular tempos, and robotic vocals) with an astonishingly slow part where (what sounds like) acoustic guitars enter the picture!
If the record loses any points for anything, it's for being so short (since it's only 31 minutes long, and the listener feels like they need another song or two.) That aside, though, all black/extreme metal fans who don't need innovation in music to enjoy it will find it extremely hard not to be very satisfied with "Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam."
|
|
|
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best Gorgoroth album in years, July 17, 2006
Gorgoroth's new album is heavy, fast, and (although it may sound cheesy) as grim as a black metal album should be. It's a refreshing release reminiscent of something as good as the "golden age" 90s Norweigan black metal releases, but still with its own unique twist. In this album they've abandoned a lot of the experimentation in terms of electronica and noise and stuck with straight black metal, which makes the album much better than the last 2 or 3 Gorgoroth albums. "Sign of an Open Eye" reminds one of slow early 90s Darkthrone and Immortal songs, which adds to the overall atmosphere and complements the rest of the album.
Instrumentally, the drumming from Frost of Satyricon is very well done and he continues to show he is a top notch extreme metal drummer. Infernus's guitars have their classic feel of simple reverberating dark melody complemented by bursts of noise and distortion. King's bass is absolutely necessary for the sound of the album although it is difficult to hear over the guitar (as with most black metal recordings). Gaahl's vocals on this album are much better than on Twilight of the Idols.
Overall a very, very good black metal album, especially in a genre where many of the big names have almost abandoned their black metal roots entirely, Gorgoroth has released a modern classic, surpassing modern releases by other big names like Mayhem, Darkthrone and Satyricon by miles.
|
|
|
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
, August 28, 2006
This band continues unleashing barbaric black metal mayhem and despite the close relationship that the singer and the law has had recently, it hasn't stopped them from continuing to corrupt the ears of the feeble and strengthen the minds of the converted. Gorgoroth are masters at what they do-they captivate your attention through well-placed slow monstrous passages while balancing it out with all-out bursts of chaotic noise. There's a lot of filth emanating from the material, enough to make the normal listener turn away with disgust and that's just fine. The fact that Frost makes a return-to-form to the Gorgoroth ranks and gives a hellish performance is a mere bonus.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
is Gorgoroth's 
