black metal
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When this album came in, it immediately became the source for an amusing discussion. I opened the envelope it was shipped in and saw the album-title, 'In The Sign Of Satan', which made me wonder, what if Satan doesn't even like black metal? What if Satan is actually a eurodance fan, shaking his searing hot ass to Snap and Technotronic? Wouldn't he be pissed at all those metalheads who make all that eerie noise in his name? Then again, none of the other deities seem to do anything against people who commit horrible things in their names, and believe me, some religions are quite more murderous than the so-called evil one. I can imagine God saying "oh, let them all burn with their horrible gospels and psalms". I mean, nobody know what music these deities are into, right?
German trio Adversum was founded in 2014 with the solo purpose to create Satanic black metal. With song titles like 'Open The Flesh', 'Force Of Faith and Fire' or 'Until Death We Sing Thy Name' they certainly prove their point, and they know perfectly how to create a bleak and haunting sound, especially in the eerie dark ambient closer, 'Incipit Khaos'. But obviously, the majority of songs on this album are fierce and brutal black metal anthems, songs you definitely need to listen to if you're into the most evil of musical genres. 'Open The Flesh' is probably the most typical one, driving on blast beats and all the necessary elements to make it a classic black metal opus.
For the most part 'Left Hand Theosis' is somewhat slower but in no way less intense. It reminds me a bit of acts like Rotting Christ, Dimmu Borgir maybe, or some works by Emperor. There's plenty of variation, a strong, mature sound and enough room to show some musical craftsmanship. Also interesting, Adversum never seems to move towards the whole post-black metal scene but keep grinding on that awesome nineties sound with elements of thrash metal and plenty of headbanging-worthy passages. 'Force Of Faith And Fire' is a brilliant piece of old school black metal, harsh, malignant and severe. Love it, and I also love the slow, crushing track 'Until Death We Sing Thy Name'.
But my favorite track is 'Raining Salvation', which brings a black 'n roll element to the already varied sound. This (mostly) mid-tempo tune actually made me decide that, if there is one black metal album going into my "best-of-2016" list, it's probably going to be 'In The Sign Of Satan'. The minimal but effective use of keyboards and the melodic approach certainly add a lot to the atmosphere of the whole thing. I'm not sure if these guys are planning a tour, or play live in the first place, but I definitely want to see them perform some of these songs. With a sound like this, Adversum could easily become one of the new big names in the black metal scene.
​Serge
German trio Adversum was founded in 2014 with the solo purpose to create Satanic black metal. With song titles like 'Open The Flesh', 'Force Of Faith and Fire' or 'Until Death We Sing Thy Name' they certainly prove their point, and they know perfectly how to create a bleak and haunting sound, especially in the eerie dark ambient closer, 'Incipit Khaos'. But obviously, the majority of songs on this album are fierce and brutal black metal anthems, songs you definitely need to listen to if you're into the most evil of musical genres. 'Open The Flesh' is probably the most typical one, driving on blast beats and all the necessary elements to make it a classic black metal opus.
For the most part 'Left Hand Theosis' is somewhat slower but in no way less intense. It reminds me a bit of acts like Rotting Christ, Dimmu Borgir maybe, or some works by Emperor. There's plenty of variation, a strong, mature sound and enough room to show some musical craftsmanship. Also interesting, Adversum never seems to move towards the whole post-black metal scene but keep grinding on that awesome nineties sound with elements of thrash metal and plenty of headbanging-worthy passages. 'Force Of Faith And Fire' is a brilliant piece of old school black metal, harsh, malignant and severe. Love it, and I also love the slow, crushing track 'Until Death We Sing Thy Name'.
But my favorite track is 'Raining Salvation', which brings a black 'n roll element to the already varied sound. This (mostly) mid-tempo tune actually made me decide that, if there is one black metal album going into my "best-of-2016" list, it's probably going to be 'In The Sign Of Satan'. The minimal but effective use of keyboards and the melodic approach certainly add a lot to the atmosphere of the whole thing. I'm not sure if these guys are planning a tour, or play live in the first place, but I definitely want to see them perform some of these songs. With a sound like this, Adversum could easily become one of the new big names in the black metal scene.
​Serge