Grand Belial's Key
The Trifixion of Swine
[End All Life/Spikekult]


A new release from the longest running US black metal band. Sounding very much the same as before, but still fairly impressive. The 7" is limited to 300 hand-numbered copies (unlike the 1000 copies that were originally going to be printed), and has the usual artwork mocking biblical stupidity.

'Son of the Black Ram' is especially nifty, what with the powerful riff and rather amazing drumming. It moves in between fast paced and peppered with fills, to almost blasting in some sections (like old Cremation (Can)!). Cazz's vocals are slightly more high pitched then usual, and some keyboards come in near the end of the track, producing a very obscure feel to the music...

"Kingdom of Poisoned Fruits" is slightly more high-energy, while still holding on to the powerful GBK sound - the bass is especially dominant on this track. I'd like to see this band in a different studio though, as the 'bland but solid' production that seems to follow them is starting to make everything sound the same.


© 2000 brand