xREL.v3

B E R C

Artist  :: Gorgoroth
Album   :: Instinctus Bestialis
Year    :: 2015

. Genre   :: Black Metal                 Source  :: CDDA
Label   :: Soulseller Records          R.date  :: 2015.06.19
Cat.nr. :: SSR082                      Size    :: 64,09 MB

Encoder :: LAME 3.98.4 -V0
Bitrate :: avg. 285kbps
Quality :: 44,1kHz/Joint Stereo

Website :: http://www.gorgoroth.info/

tracklist

01. Radix Malorum                                      03:14
02. Dionysian Rite                                     04:05
03. Ad Omnipotens Aeterne Diabolus                     05:45
04. Come Night                                         02:41
05. Burn in His Light                                  04:02
06. Rage                                               04:03
07. Kala Brahman                                       05:23
08. Awakening                                          02:07

>>  31:20

release notes

Somehow it's been almost six whole years since the last
proper album by Black Metal stalwarts Gorgoroth. And what a
long six years they've been, filled with a multitude of ups
and downs, highs and lows, one particularly ill-conceived
re-recording, and a rather public spat with their (now ex)
vocalist Pest.

So you can probably be forgiven for being a little wary
about the group's new album, their ninth (or tenth,
depending on how you're counting), and only their second
with Tomas Asklund behind the kit, as well as their first
with yet another new vocalist (Triumfall's Atterigner)
behind the mic.

But you needn't be unduly concerned. Although Instinctus
Bestialis may not be the masterpiece necessary to truly
thrust the band back to the forefront of today's Black Metal
scene, when it all comes together it is in fact very, very,
good indeed.

At just over half an hour in total length it's undeniably a
rapid-fire listen - as has been the case with all the band's
albums - yet you never feel short-changed or underwhelmed by
this. In fact, the album's short run-time, coupled with its
fairly palpable sense of blasphemous energy, makes it hard
to resist just pushing "play" again immediately after it
finishes!

As it stands, a lot of the material on offer here hearkens
back to the Incipit Satan/Ad Majorem  period, with the
initial salvo of "Radix Malorum" (one of the strongest
openers the band have ever produced, which explodes out of
the gates in a veritable fever-frenzy of scalding riffs and
demonic hooks) and "Dionysian Rite" (all teeth-grinding,
chugging guitars, eerie, flickering harmonics, and a hefty
helping of impending doom) immediately setting the stage for
a return to the band's "glory days".

The strychnine melodies of "Ad Omnipotens Aeterne Diabolus"
glide like razorblades across your skin, bolstered by
Asklund's punishingly precise drum-work, and accentuated by
a series of grimly infectious vocal hooks courtesy of new
boy Atterigner, who more than holds his own here on his
debut with the band, his gritty snarl landing somewhere
between previous Gorgoroth frontman Gaahl and that of
Belphegor vocalist Helmuth.

"Come Night", despite a tendency to whip by almost a little
too quickly (at least first time around), still possesses a
rich vein of cadaverous, vampiric melodies that worm their
way under your skin a little more with every listen,
although it's the heaving hooks and morbid stomp-along of
"Burn in His Light" which leaves a much stronger instant
impression, showcasing Infernus' mastery of the gloriously
simple, yet effortlessly effective, "Black Metal riff", each
one inducing an irresistible bout of headbanging bliss,
aided and abetted by Asklund's nimble stick-work and
impressive grasp of drumming dynamics.

The deceptively titled "Rage" is in fact a surprisingly
sombre affair, a steady deluge of rippling crimson chords
and constricted, chugging riffs, leading to a shamelessly
bleak and melodic outro, whilst the slightly more Death-
tinged "Kala Brahman" showcases the album at its heaviest
and most unforgiving, erring a little more toward the
Belphegor side of things in its inexorable march of brute-
force riffage and pounding snare patterns.

The album ends with the poisoned dirge of "Awakening", a
two-minute ground-and-pound of rattling, relentless
percussion and low, ghoulish grooves, offset by a cruelly
infectious vocal refrain, bringing the whole album to a
suitably bone-grinding and blasphemous conclusion.

After listening to this album several times over it seems to
me that the negative reception afforded to the re-recording
of Under the Sign of Hell back in 2011 (particularly with
regards to the production and drum work, both of which are
massively improved here), coupled with the twin pressures of
breaking in a new vocalist and re-establishing the band's
slightly tarnished reputation, must have inspired Infernus
and his devilish cohorts to put forth an extra effort this
time around. Although Instinctus Bestialis may on one level
represent yet another comeback for a group who've often
struggled for stability and consistency for large portions
of their career, it's also another undeniably impressive
entry in the band's unholy legacy.

BERC : 2015
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