Belphegor - The Devils Review

My child of the night may have noticed I have a special predilection for the so-called big guns or the bands that attract crowds. In other words, popular bands in the world of Metal music. I always say that there is a reason for them to be popular. This reason may be valid or not. It depends on the band, but in fact, most of them deserve the fact of being popular. In most cases their sonancy has that different thing that made them stood out of the crowd and get popular. There is also another reason to tend to like the big guns. When I got into Metal it was really hard to get all kinds of material. Being more popular made the big guns to be naturally more available. Some of them had the support of big multinational record companies with great contracts. A thing that is not so common these days. Few bands as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Scorpions still have great deals. So getting their material was easier.

In the dark and sinister world of Black Metal, Belphegor are a big gun. No doubt about it. Listening to “The Devils,” their newest material, my child of the night will easily get to know why. The unexpect is an important part of Belphegor’s musical narrative. “The Devils” was written to tell a story and my child of the night will notice it by its musical narrative or simply the weas the songs are linked and the way they go on. Interwoven with all those traits there is the unexpected. This unexpected can a surprise or not. In musical terms, it is something in the music that makes some discomfort or raises the attention. As all Black Metal albums should be “The Devils” brings lots of discomfort to the listener. Album opener and tittle track “The Devils” sounds to be the soundtrack to an uncanny and gloomy terror movie. Or even a twisted and distorted piece of an opera. Its cadence has those rise and falls and a tricky complexity. It seems to go throught the right but then someting – the unxpected – arises and change the song. Vocals play a hard in it. They are somewhat out of the ordinary. It sounds as if it were a demon singing. That’s exactly the impression it gets. The guitars and drums follow the chaotic path vocals lead to. Belphegor have a deceptive sonancy as they seem to sound regular but in fact they don’t. I’ll admit I like that a lot. My child of the night will get that while listening to “Glorifizierung des Teufels” where the guitars sound as a buzzsaw and vocals as the devils the album tittle tells. The track is of that b*stial beauty.

“The Devils” showcases that Belphegor still lead the gloomy and dark path of Black Metal.

“The Devils” Belphegor was released on June 24th via Nuclear Blast Records.

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