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/:: Artist :: Gorgoroth ::\
:: Album :: Instinctus Bestialis ::
:: Year :: 2015 ::
:: __ _ _ __ ::
-:--\\-----------------------------------------------------------------//--:-
:: \ / ::
:: . Genre :: Black Metal Source :: CDDA . ::
:: Label :: Soulseller Records R.date :: 2015.06.19 ::
_::__ Cat.nr. :: SSR082 Size :: 64,09 MB __::_
::// \\::
::/---------------------------------------------------------------------\::
:: ::
/: Encoder :: LAME 3.98.4 -V0 :\
..: Bitrate :: avg. 285kbps : .
. Quality :: 44,1kHz/Joint Stereo .
. .
Website :: http://www.gorgoroth.info/
__ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __
.\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////.
+/ -\------- | | ----\ tracklist /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: 01. Radix Malorum 03:14 ::
:: 02. Dionysian Rite 04:05 ::
:: 03. Ad Omnipotens Aeterne Diabolus 05:45 ::
:: 04. Come Night 02:41 ::
:: 05. Burn in His Light 04:02 ::
:: 06. Rage 04:03 ::
:: 07. Kala Brahman 05:23 ::
:: 08. Awakening 02:07 ::
:: ------- ::
.. >> 31:20 ..
__ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __
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+/ -\------- | | ----\ release notes /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: ::
:: Somehow it's been almost six whole years since the last ::
:: proper album by Black Metal stalwarts Gorgoroth. And what a ::
:: long six years they've been, filled with a multitude of ups ::
:: and downs, highs and lows, one particularly ill-conceived ::
:: re-recording, and a rather public spat with their (now ex) ::
:: vocalist Pest. ::
:: ::
:: So you can probably be forgiven for being a little wary ::
:: about the group's new album, their ninth (or tenth, ::
:: depending on how you're counting), and only their second ::
:: with Tomas Asklund behind the kit, as well as their first ::
:: with yet another new vocalist (Triumfall's Atterigner) ::
:: behind the mic. ::
:: ::
:: But you needn't be unduly concerned. Although Instinctus ::
:: Bestialis may not be the masterpiece necessary to truly ::
:: thrust the band back to the forefront of today's Black Metal ::
:: scene, when it all comes together it is in fact very, very, ::
:: good indeed. ::
:: ::
:: At just over half an hour in total length it's undeniably a ::
:: rapid-fire listen - as has been the case with all the band's ::
:: albums - yet you never feel short-changed or underwhelmed by ::
:: this. In fact, the album's short run-time, coupled with its ::
:: fairly palpable sense of blasphemous energy, makes it hard ::
:: to resist just pushing "play" again immediately after it ::
:: finishes! ::
:: ::
:: As it stands, a lot of the material on offer here hearkens ::
:: back to the Incipit Satan/Ad Majoremà period, with the ::
:: initial salvo of "Radix Malorum" (one of the strongest ::
:: openers the band have ever produced, which explodes out of ::
:: the gates in a veritable fever-frenzy of scalding riffs and ::
:: demonic hooks) and "Dionysian Rite" (all teeth-grinding, ::
:: chugging guitars, eerie, flickering harmonics, and a hefty ::
:: helping of impending doom) immediately setting the stage for ::
:: a return to the band's "glory days". ::
:: ::
:: The strychnine melodies of "Ad Omnipotens Aeterne Diabolus" ::
:: glide like razorblades across your skin, bolstered by ::
:: Asklund's punishingly precise drum-work, and accentuated by ::
:: a series of grimly infectious vocal hooks courtesy of new ::
:: boy Atterigner, who more than holds his own here on his ::
:: debut with the band, his gritty snarl landing somewhere ::
:: between previous Gorgoroth frontman Gaahl and that of ::
:: Belphegor vocalist Helmuth. ::
:: ::
:: "Come Night", despite a tendency to whip by almost a little ::
:: too quickly (at least first time around), still possesses a ::
:: rich vein of cadaverous, vampiric melodies that worm their ::
:: way under your skin a little more with every listen, ::
:: although it's the heaving hooks and morbid stomp-along of ::
:: "Burn in His Light" which leaves a much stronger instant ::
:: impression, showcasing Infernus' mastery of the gloriously ::
:: simple, yet effortlessly effective, "Black Metal riff", each ::
:: one inducing an irresistible bout of headbanging bliss, ::
:: aided and abetted by Asklund's nimble stick-work and ::
:: impressive grasp of drumming dynamics. ::
:: ::
:: The deceptively titled "Rage" is in fact a surprisingly ::
:: sombre affair, a steady deluge of rippling crimson chords ::
:: and constricted, chugging riffs, leading to a shamelessly ::
:: bleak and melodic outro, whilst the slightly more Death- ::
:: tinged "Kala Brahman" showcases the album at its heaviest ::
:: and most unforgiving, erring a little more toward the ::
:: Belphegor side of things in its inexorable march of brute- ::
:: force riffage and pounding snare patterns. ::
:: ::
:: The album ends with the poisoned dirge of "Awakening", a ::
:: two-minute ground-and-pound of rattling, relentless ::
:: percussion and low, ghoulish grooves, offset by a cruelly ::
:: infectious vocal refrain, bringing the whole album to a ::
:: suitably bone-grinding and blasphemous conclusion. ::
:: ::
:: After listening to this album several times over it seems to ::
:: me that the negative reception afforded to the re-recording ::
:: of Under the Sign of Hell back in 2011 (particularly with ::
:: regards to the production and drum work, both of which are ::
:: massively improved here), coupled with the twin pressures of ::
:: breaking in a new vocalist and re-establishing the band's ::
:: slightly tarnished reputation, must have inspired Infernus ::
:: and his devilish cohorts to put forth an extra effort this ::
:: time around. Although Instinctus Bestialis may on one level ::
:: represent yet another comeback for a group who've often ::
:: struggled for stability and consistency for large portions ::
:: of their career, it's also another undeniably impressive ::
:: entry in the band's unholy legacy. ::
:: ::
:: . _ _ . ::
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