Album Review: Belphegor – The Devils (Nuclear Blast Records)

Black metal legends Belphegor are ready to unleash a new tome of darkness on July 29th, 2022. Their 12th album ‘The Devils’ will be released via Nuclear Blast Records.

Unleashing a torrent of blackened abuse, Belphegor make their triumphant return with all the dark and crunching heaviness we have come to expect from this band. Yet, with the opening title track, the step up in production values and urgency to expand into more detailed territories is clear. The bar is set, the devils are back and darkness reigns once again.

If that opener was somehow not heavy and wild enough for your tastes, Totentanz – Dance Macabre will certainly sate the thirst. Belphegor’s penchant for intensity and chaos realised in glorious black metal style. Before eerie melody meets a sinister, grandiose edge and tempo-shifting evil for something truly overwhelming with Glorifizierung des Teufels.

Followed then by the weighty tome that is Damnation – Höllensturz, where bursts of blackened vibrancy balance out crushing percussion and small moments of melody make it all the more palatable. The imaginative touch of a middle-eastern ring near the end is also something of a surprise.

By the halfway point, it’s clear that Belphegor are still thriving within the darkness they have created for themselves over their long and storied career. The Devils is not a band resting on their laurels and no further proof is needed then with the horrifying extravagance of Virtus Asinaria – Prayer. A modern slice of cinematically-tinged bleakness.

A tad more straight-forward, in that it’s frenzied black metal and quite short, Kingdom of Cold Flesh is a blistering expulsion of heaviness. Whereas Ritus Incendium Diabolus is the sound of the end times. The absolute power and weight behind Belphegor’s instrumentation is continually startling and nowhere is that better exemplified than with this beastly offering. It plays out like a finale which does make a lot of sense once you hear what comes next.

Over far too quickly, the final track (not including the bonus track) is Creature of Fire and it is the shortest one of the lot. It’s also more of an atmospheric outro than anything else. One that feels suitably grand and has some of the album’s finest melodic moments.

The bonus track? It’s the previously released single ‘Blackest Sabbath 1997’ which is a medley of two songs from the ‘Blutsabbath’ album. A familiar track to the most hardcore of Belphegor fans and a welcome addition to those dipping their feet into the black metal pool for the first time.

Belphegor – The Devils Full Track Listing:

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 (Bonus Track)

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