Originally reviewed here.
Greece has one of the more underrated black metal scenes. Most people are familiar with Rotting Christ of course, but not a lot know about Kawir, Varathron, Dodsferd, or Ravencult. Well add Lord Impaler to that list as well, because this band is just as impressive as other black metal bands from their home country such as the ones named.
Lord Impaler has actually been around for quite a long time, though this is their first full-length. They have released four demos and a split with three other Greek black metal bands in the past. Lord Impaler does not have a full-time drummer, so the position is filled with a guest each new recording.
As with many other Greek black metal bands, Lord Impaler's sound is melodic and atmospheric. There is a wealth of tremolo riffing present in each song, which makes up the bulk of the melodies. The vocals are delivered in fairly typical black metal style, although they are not as ear-splitting in pitch as some other bands. They are still very harsh and intense vocals. The band does occasionally delve into melodic, Burzum-esque keyboard lines during songs. There is also one whole track of this. The bulk of the album feels cold and sinister.
I enjoyed this album quite a bit. Greek black metal is somewhere right behind Australian war metal and German thrash metal as far as my favorite regional subgenres go. This band proves why.
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