originally written by Nick Kulczycki
Belphegor have once again bridged the sounds of black metal and death metal into a formidable commodity, on their 5th album that is Goat Reich Flesh Cult. Belphegor have once again, out done themselves on this tour de force album of feverish blast beats, whirlwind guitar mechanics, and well layered background accompaniment.
The album starts off with a conversation of demons intro, which is pretty bad ass, and being that my room mate just bought the new Playstation 2 game, Devil May Cry 3, it seems as if my day is devoted primarily to Goats and Pig Urine. Bleeding Salvation is probably my favorite track on the album. Belphegor uses a lot of harmonic minor scales, similar to Nile and Hate Eternal. The use of the synthesizer is also very tasteful, and not overdone. The keyboard parts remind me of old Bal-Sagoth. The drumwork is the driving force though, very similar to the work of Pete Sandoval or Derrik Roddy. The blast beats are very tastefully done, although triggered to death. The last track on the album, Festum Asinorum has a total Immolation, Christ’s Cage feel that is very memorable and dark ending to this wonderful album.
Although there is a strong Morbid Angel vibe from Belphegor, the way that this album is balanced and played feels like a melodic black metal. Lot of thinking seemed to go into the way the tracks are laid out, all seeming to work together. Being that this band is from Austria, and Poland being in the vicinity of Austria, it would be really easy to make a Behemoth comparison. The cover artwork on Goat Reich Flesh Cult looks very similar to Behemoth’s Demigod. I would put this album right up against Demigod and let both of those play on random and be easily as enthused with either album. Although, with Belphegor there seems to be more of a black metal influence on their new effort, as opposed to Behemoth’s latest which seems more death metal driven.
This is my favorite album right now. So I am going to say right here off the bat that I love it. This is exactly what the new Luciferion should have sounded like! The keyboard parts go along with the guitar parts! The drumming is intense and tight the whole way through! The solos are extremely well played!
Belphegor has done a phenomenal job with Goat Reich Flesh Cult it is one of the most consistent black/death metal albums to come out in quite some time. Belphegor seem to have concocted a recipe for some seriously sacriligeous music. It is as if Belphegor took a power metal approach to writing Floridian death metal. Well layered orchestration, blazingly amazing drumwork, and guitar shreddery that eviscerates the listener into a cesspool of blasphemy. Pick this album up now if you are a fan of Hate Eternal,Nile, or even Immolation. Goat Reich Flesh Cult is another good example of what happens when black metal bands decide to play death metal. You are going to want to buy this album now!
