Founding fathers of the Swedish melodic black metal scene Lord Belial have been active since right back in 1992. With a steady flow of material and some landmark albums all went well up to the release of 2018’s The Black Curse which appeared to do just what it suggested, leaving the band to combust in a puff of noxious smoke. All good friends (an indeed a pair of brothers), it was simply the trials of life along with every musician’s nightmare tinnitus that floored them and made it difficult to hold things together. Reinvigorated with the recording of new recent Vassago album ‘Storm Of Satan’ original Lord Belial members Pepa and Micke reunited with third member Thomas and a new era was recorded under the thoughtful watch of Andy LaRoque.
I have lived with this album for quite some time having done an interview with Pepa published HERE, so had quite a lot of insight into things. After having put it down for a while until nearer the release date it was a pleasure to come back and relive it’s Satanic might and majesty once more. It’s fair to say that Lord Belial had many fans and a template that meant although they were gone for some 14 year’s they were far from forgotten and Rapture is a glorious return. The recording compared to past albums is phenomenal and here you can really experience both the malevolence of the trio at full cleaving glory and enjoy the melodic strains that they were renowned for with the grace and majesty they richly deserve.
Steaming in with ‘Legion’ we get an unrelenting exorcism from the drumming which really does form a pulverising drive over rigorous furrowing riffs and Thomas’s feral snarling. You know the words already “my name is Legion, for we are many’ and it truly sounds like the unleashing of all the demons dwelling in the lower bowels of hell. Themes and devotion to Satan have not been neglected in the group’s downtime, in fact this strikes as a glorification and if the blasting fury of songs like ‘On A Throne Of Souls’ don’t get you, the thorny strangulating guitar parts will. Everyone no doubt knows what The Rapture is, when those holier than thou are reclaimed from earth to heaven. It’s Belial that reaps and sows here though. Pepa stated that “It is an end-of-all-time thing for Christians and Christianity” when mentioning it to him and the bouncing drums on this Devilish salutation sound like they are played on the skulls of the pious. The guitar weave on the midsection is devout and vocals move from sharp snarls to low growls making ‘Rapture Of Belial’ a potent blast of foul-breathed baiting to sheep awaiting their misguided deliverance. As suggested, it’s their ultimate ‘Destruction’ that truly awaits and they even get a song to plummet down into the flames to, a suitably fiery one, make no mistake. By comparison to this shorter blast-a-thon, the melodic impetus is really found on ‘Belie All Gods’ complete with a choir of the damned, this is a chance to take in the wonderous sights of the abyss in all their glory.
There are absolutely no problems keeping up the impetus over the 10 songs and 50 minutes of music on display here. From the utterly vicious bruising blasts and the symphonic glory of ‘Lux Luciferi’ complete with explosive detonations to the final ‘Lamentations’ of the doomed this is an album rooted in the classicism of old and one that has been dragged kicking and screaming into the modern age. If you like the genre it’s a must.
(9/10 Pete Woods)
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