Belphegor // The Devils // Album Review

9

The masters of blasphemous Death Metal have returned with their 12th studio album so if you are easily offended, please just don’t even think about pressing play.

Belphegor has been making uncompromising and ferocious music since 1993 and has spread like the plague through the underground, the band have been an ever-present at the top of the most impressive Death Metal bands since.

The Devils is 9 tracks spanning just over 42 minutes, with 8 new tracks and the album ending with a re-recording of a medley of ‘Blackest Ecstacy’ and ‘Blutbabbath’ from 1997 Blutsabbath album with the track ‘Blackest Sabbath 1997’

Opening with the album title track, the blistering combination of blast beats, punishing riffs and a vocal that is both abrasive and bloodcurdling, spits its bile down your ear canal, with the acid burning as it drips down. The feeling of classic 90s Death Metal cracks yu between the eyes like the corner of a breeze block. Before the opening song ends you know that this is going to be something special.

This feeling continues throughout and the standard never drops, as the riffs stir all things that most people would rather not think about, but I just can’t get enough of it. The paces may change, but the mood certainly changes as tracks like ‘Glorifizierung des Teufels’ are steadier but certainly no less crushing. As the band switch between English and German lyrics, the music certainly fills any language gaps as the Blackened Death Metal just talks to you.

This is not an all-out music assault, parts of the composition show that this is a precise and targeted album, don’t get me wrong the album certainly is exactly what you want from a Death Metal or Black Metal album, but the added extras show a different level of thinking.

 The Devils shows exactly why Belphegor are one of the highest thought of bands in their field, it is everything and more that you could wish for and is going to please fans of the band and genre. On a personal note, I was excited to see them at Bloodstock Open Air before hearing this, no I cant wait to see them. Its going to be dark, brutal and fucking ace, exactly like this album.

If you haven’t pre-ordered this, do it!

Ed Ford

 

The Devils will be released Friday, July 29th 2022 via Nuclear Blast.

 

Track List

  1. The Devils
  2. Totentanz – Dance Macabre
  3. Glorifizierung des Teufels
  4. Damnation – Höllensturz
  5. Virtus Asinaria – Prayer
  6. Kingdom Of Cold Flesh
  7. Ritus Incendium Diabolus
  8. Creature Of Fire
  9. Blackest Sabbath 1997 *

Online

FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/belphegor

INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/belphegor_official/

YOUTUBE https://www.youtube.com/user/BelphegorBand

TWITTER https://twitter.com/_belphegor

HOMEPAGE https://www.belphegor.at/

9