Lord Belial – The Seal of Belial (Candlelight Records)
By Chris Barnes
September 21, 2005

I’m not a big Black Metal fan – in fact, most of it bugs the crap out of me – but there are notable exceptions… the legendary Weakling of course, Xasthur, some of Attila Csihar’s projects and Lord Belial. I’ve always had a soft spot for Lord Belial for some reason. Their split 7” with dark metal despots Runemagick hooked me in with it’s unexpurgated frosty gravitas... It’s Black Metal but without the bombast and pomposity of, say, Dimmu Borgir and without the Satanic clown TR00ness of, say, I dunno, Dark Funeral. Do those guys look like dicks or what? I mean, really, how can you take that crap seriously? Anyway, I digress…

So why is The Seal of Belial palatable, even enjoyable? The overall mid-paced darkness appeals to me of course, but besides that it’s got producer Andy LaRoque’s killer drum sound all over it… triggered and compressed to shit, I don’t care, but that bellicose double bass sounds damn good to these ears. Runemagick’s own Niklas 'Terror' Rudolfsson lends a hand to engineering, a big selling point for me, as I’m a huge fan. The Lords also add in a death metal groove that is lacking in most TR00 black metal, and aren’t afraid to pull out the solos.

So, maybe it’s black metal lite to the purist, but ultimately, I could give two shits. It’s chilly, it grooves, it has finesse and a large repeat playability quotient. This is one Lord that has yet to disappoint me.


Visit the Lord Belial website at www.lordbelial.com

Moondog303

Also a fairly good black metal release was Vassago. I believe it had members of Lord Belial in it.

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Darryl Baysinger

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Kevin

I just received some black metal releases from a label in Germany. I don't know why, but I did. I suppose you'd call it "troo."

Man, I can't stand this crap. Your question, Chris, about how to take it seriously is a good one. I guess maladjusted "troo" black metal teenagers would, but I certainly can't.

If anyone would like to take a turn at giving these discs a fair review, b-mail me.

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Now wait a minute, I can't change attitudes!