Tag Archives: Infernus

Hate Eternal – Infernus

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Every three years or so, I get to experience a strong feeling of déjà vu. I find myself re-living the past through a sequence of emotions not unlike the Kübler-Ross model for the five stages of grief. It coincides with the release of each new Hate Eternal album, but instead of denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance, my sequence usually only consists of three stages.

ANTICIPATION – I just know there’s something special inside singer/guitarist Erik Rutan which will eventually cause my ears to explode with dripping, orgasmic joy. Could this be it?

DISAPPOINTMENT – After ten minutes, I realise it’s following the exact same pattern as all the others. Great musicianship but not one truly memorable song.

RESOLUTION – deciding once and for all that this will be the last Hate Eternal album I listen to.

Yes, of course I know that’s rubbish. It wouldn’t be a cycle if I didn’t repeat it, and Infernus (Season of Mist) definitely makes me think I’m doing it all over again for a good reason with its frenetic opening track ‘Locust Swarm’. All the usual trademarks are in evidence straight away. Pummeling blastbeats, angular, atonal riffing and Rutan’s roaring vocals are all present and perfectly correct. Second track, ‘The Stygian Deep’ begins like a less subtle version of The Satanist (Metal Blade) by Behemoth but quickly becomes its very own snarling beast. ‘Pathogenic Apathy’ comes along to keep things moving and contains a couple of very tasty riffs. ‘La Tempestad’ follows, but no matter how fast and frantic it might be, it doesn’t really do a lot and things stall a little. However, the quite magnificent title track arrives next, and that beautiful noise you can hear is the sound of Behemoth and Morbid Angel having a baby.

Unfortunately, things start to unravel pretty much as anticipated after that. None of the remaining songs are that memorable or pack any real punch and we soon find ourselves back in all too familiar Hate Eternal territory. Sure, there’s some pure Morbid Angel loveliness during ‘Order of the Arcane Scripture’, ‘Chaos Theory’ is actually a very enjoyable instrumental, and closer, ‘O’ Majestic Being, Hear My Call’ isn’t a bad song by any stretch, but there just aren’t enough highlights to salvage an otherwise forgettable second half.

 

6.0/10

SPINY NORMAN


Gorgoroth – Instinctus Bestialis

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One of the most controversial and iconic bands in the Norwegian black metal scene, for many years the extracurricular activities of Gorgoroth members eclipsed the music being recorded. We had the over-the-top blasphemy of the infamous Warsaw gig of 2004, complete with nude crucified models and sheep heads on spikes, the rape allegations levelled at founding member Infernus in 2006, then the schism a year later which saw imposing frontman Gaahl and songwriter/bassist King ov Hell fail in their attempt to wrest control of the band from Infernus.

Thankfully all these distractions appear to be at an end, although Infernus has been unable to hold onto a stable line-up. Ninth full-length studio effort Instinctus Bestialis (Soulseller), originally recorded in 2013, has finally been released with former Obituary member Frank Watkins (Bøddel) and Thomas Asklund returning on bass and drums, and newbie Atteringer stepping up to the mic. So, after all the drama of the past decade, has the six year wait since 2009’s Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt (Regain) been worth it?

Upon pressing play, it’s instantly apparent that the band’s trademark blasting ferocity has not been reined in one iota. The vicious, clipped riffing and light speed blastbeats of ‘Radix Malorum’ will quite simply pin your ears back. The same can be said of next track ‘Dionysian Rite’ with Infernus doubling-up furiously and one of the three (yes, three) hired lead guitarists adding slick pinch harmonics to proceedings. The breakdown is suitably sinister with Atteringer intoning “Intoxication!” like a deranged, drunken cult leader. ‘Ad Omnipotens Aeterne Diabolus’ starts off slowly and mournfully, playing around with different tempos and ideas including some vaguely Dissection tasting guitar lines.

While the band more or less perfected their style several years ago, somewhere between 2000’s Incipit Satan and 2003’s Twilight of the Idols (both Nuclear Blast), it’s evident that Infernus and his acolytes have plenty more to offer. The naked aggressiveness of the riffing could still blast all the snow off a Norwegian mountain-top with ease and the overriding feeling of being repeatedly pounded by the hammer of Satan is something that you can only get with a Gorgoroth album, and Instinctus Bestialis is no exception. The death metal that infects ‘Come Night’ and ‘Rage in His Light’ are welcome additions that prevent things from being too one-dimensional, with the fantastic solo in the latter raising the bar again.

One noticeable change from previous albums is the vocal style of Atteringer. Opting for a low-pitched growl instead of the high pitched shrieks and rasps favoured by previous vocalists Hat and Pest, his low, unhurried intonations lend proceedings a darker air, especially in the slower moments which allow the tension to build once more. The production is crisp, ensuring all instruments are heard, although the sheer prominence of the guitars and relentless drums in the mix at times threaten to turn things into a stew, but this is thankfully dodged.

Hopefully now the music will be all that matters, and with Instinctus Bestialis, Gorgoroth have re-established their position as standard bearers of the Norwegian second wave.

True Satanic Black Metal has never felt so alive.

8.0/10

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JAMES CONWAY


Gorgoroth Releasing Instinctus Bestialis on June 8th

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Norwegian black metallers Gorgoroth have signed a worldwide recording deal with Soulseller Records and will be releasing their tenth studio album Instinctus Bestialis on June 8, 2015.

The recording lineup for the eight-song effort consisted of guitarist Infernus, drummer Tomas Asklund, bassist Bøddel (a.k.a. Frank Watkins, ex-Obituary), and new vocalist Atterigner from the Serbian band Triumfall.

Instinctus Bestialis was recorded and mixed by Tomas Asklund at Monolith Studio, produced by Infernus and Asklund and mastered at Cutting Room in Sweden by Mats Lindfors, Infernus and Asklund. Guest appearances include Chris Cannella, Fabio Sperandio and Henrik Ekeroth on lead guitar.

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Instinctus Bestialis track listing:
01. Radix Malorum
02. Dionysian Rite
03. Ad Omnipotens Aeterne Diabolus
04. Come Night
05. Burn in His Light
06. Rage
07. Kala Brahman
08. Awakening


Blastfest- Day 3: Bergen, NO

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On the last day of Blastfest, festival boss Yngve “Bolt” Christiansen had once again made a smart move. He had Wardruna open, and once again the crowd was much bigger than what one would expect at such an early hour. Wardruna are also extremely professional, if quite far removed from what one would consider metal. Although, they do have both Kvitrafn and Gaahl in their lineup, so the selling points in terms of metal are very much present. However, folk music, or the likes thereof, will in my mind never have anything to do at a metal festival, but to each his own, I guess. This became a day were I simply wasn’t able to run around and catch all the bands, but I did manage to catch most of them, and I did catch the first band at the Studio stage, which was Communic. You know, that band with members formerly in Scariot, that kinda sound like the Norwegian version of Nevermore? Well, they certainly do, and they certainly sport some technical abilities. Just like the opening act the night before, Sahg, they did their very best to get the audience started, and I think they really did a good job, at least from what I could observe.

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At the mainstage prime blasphemers Carpathian Forest were ready for a auditory attack. They certainly didn’t hold back, kicking off the show with ‘The Frostbitten Woodlands Of Norway’, which is one hell of a groovy song. Then came one classic after the other. Drummer for the occasion was Jonathan A. Perez, who usually plays with Sirenia. He was able to pull off filling the drum chair as a replacement for Kobro. The more alarming thing was a Nattefrost in front that seemed to have lost his ability to scream properly. All growls and snarls and whatnot only seemed like a mixture between half-heartedness and an actual problem with his voice. Maybe the former being a result of the latter? Well, we were given convincing versions of songs like ‘Suicide Song’, ‘Knokkelmann’ and ‘Mask Of The Slave’, so no one was complaining.

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Insidious Disease is one strange band. They have some really generic material, but are made up of people from Dimmu Borgir, Old Man’s Child, Morgoth, Napalm Death etc. For the occasion they also seemed to have recruited the former Blood Red Throne drummer Emil Wiksten, currently hammering down the nails for Swedish Aeon. I mean, there’s certainly nothing really holding this band back except for some really generic material. No eyebrows were raised.

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Speaking of … back down at the mainstage Aborted were on stage, and that is something completely different altogether. They certainly know both how to craft interesting material, put on a good and energetic show, and really raise hell. Too bad the room was only halfway filled with people as they went on stage. Maybe technical and brutal death metal par excellence was just too much for the audience mainly comprised of Scandinavians? I simply have no idea why people didn’t show up for one of the highlights of the festival – maybe not on paper, but their actual performance was flawless! Having missed out on Enthroned, I got ready for stallwarts of the death metal genre, Vader. I have seen them a couple of times before, and every single time they have been really impressive. Somehow that didn’t seem to be the case this time around. I can’t really put my finger on it, but something just seemed off about them. Maybe it was the volume levels again, just like with Hypocrisy. It just seemed a little tame and polished.

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Belphegor suffered from the same thing as Enthroned, although with Belphegor I actually got a short glimpse of them, but there was just too big a crowd to get a proper look. Back down at the mainstage, My Dying Bride were ready for their third ever appearance in Bergen. They started off a bit slow with ‘Kneel Till Doomsday’, ‘The Raven And The Rose’ and a song which I never get why is included in their set, seeing it as it is one of their weaker ones, ‘Like Gods Of The Sun’. Then again, after that, things really picked up, and they ended their set with a cavalcade of ‘Turn Loose The Swans’, ‘She Is The Dark’ and ‘The Dreadful Hours’, leaving me, paradoxically enough, with a big smile, in a euphoric trance-like state, and well on my way into blackout drunkenness. And remember good people of the world: next year (19-21th of February 2015) Yngve is doing things even bigger, with three full days at this year’s main venue. Also, where else do you get to stumble into King Ov Hell, Infernus, Abbath, Demonaz, Gerhard of Einherjer, Grutle of Enslaved and a whole host of other cult names casually hanging out in the bar? Actually, after helping Yngve move some stock and the backline just earlier today, getting a little insight into the things that are planned for the next edition: GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!

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Words: Pål Lystrup

Photos: StiPa Photography