Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Glorior Belli - Meet Us At The Southern Sign

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France is where the pinnacle of Black Metal is currently at. We all are amazed at such variation. From the very idiosyncratic and influential Deathspell Omega to the no holds bar aggression of Antaeus, what isn't there to like about France? Merrimack delves deeply into groove as much as Glorior Belli conjures up the blues.

From the very cover and imagery you can tell Glorior Belli have been studying southern history. Disabled cars in a rustic setting screams for the South. Glorior Belli unwrap their packages meticulously. Blast beats aren't heard often and slow rhythmic patterns are adopted in conjunction with high end tremolo picking. While "Manifesting the Raging Beast" is straightforward and in-your-face, Meet Us At the Southern Sign is a creeper. The vocals sound strangled and deep as if being choked. Leads are prominent and moody, they reek of blues. Glorior Belli have a close resemblance to Germany's Secrets of the Moon. Secrets of the Moon, unfortunately rely on heavy chugging, while Glorior Belli strays from the number of palm muted chords. Swamp that Shame is nearly club worthy. It's so upbeat and jazzy that you may find yourself swaying and moving your body rather than your head. Lyrical, one can infer that you can't play an Orthodox form of Black Metal with out the Vs and thous. Fortunately, I am a huge fan of that.

The production is clean and precise. It is fitting. As soon as the blasts begin to erupt a storm has come and swept those fields. Grittiness is heard while clarity is abandoned. The filth is moderate and does not have me grinding my teeth like Merrimack's "Grey Rigorism".

7.5/10

If you are a fan of blues, get it. If not, it may take some time to capture this feel.

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