Rating: 8.2

Country: Germany

Release Date: 2006

Record Label: Agonia Records

Track list:
1. Periculum Mortis
2. Souls Ejaculation
3. Embrace Your Insanity
4. Salvation from Being
5. Crown of Creation
6. Odem
7. Towards Perdition

Total playing time 47:25

Band Website: Zarathustra

Zarathustra - In Hora Mortis

Hurricane - Redemptor Dominis (vocals)
Kerberos - Axe Assaults (lead guitars)
Desecrator - Subsonic Holocaustwinds (bass guitars)
Mersus - Wooden Coffins (drums)

Even before listening to this album, there were already a number of things which made me intensely curious; they'd already lodged themselves into my mind as a relatively obscure and great band due to the power of internet memes, they're from Germany and they recorded this with Necromorbus in his studio in Sweden. The last two points are really important, since German black metal and anything recorded in Necromorbus Studio has rarely done anything but highly impress me. Suffice it to say, the winning streak for both Germany and Necromorbus continues unabated.

This album just oozes the Metal Spirit from every pore. Not just the grim and church-burning kind of metal spirit, but also the heavy, fist pumping metal attitude; and they manage to do this without sounding ridiculously old-school, backwards or silly. Indeed, they sound very current, original and serious. The one band they most remind me of is Sorhin, except that they don't sound nearly as ‘happy'; after a sinister opening of dark ambient effects and reverbed, slow and doomy guitar lines, they let rip with an ultra-melodic lead guitar, followed by extremely energetic and crushing riff-work, highly precise and varied drumming, and forceful, throat-ripping vocals, wrapped in a production that is clear yet filled with grit.

This album continuously shifts gears, in tempo, intensity, atmosphere and most importantly in the riff-department. While it doesn't reach the ridiculous level of the riff-salads of some thrash or technical death metal bands, the continuous flux in riffing is not to be underestimated. And whatever riffs they are playing at any given moment, slow, fast, crushing, sinister or majestic, you can always be sure of one thing; they all demand that you get off your ass and start destroying things right the fuck now! These guys have genuine energy and conviction that is impossible to resist.

These impressions come mainly from the first half of the album, which is filled to bursting with Scandinavian tremolo with just that much more melody and technique, chunky power chords with just that much more punch and heaviness, and reverbed, dissonant angular riffing that is just that much more sinister, but at that point lacking one ingredient to get my personal stamp of approval for undisputed greatness: the epicness. This would have gotten an eight from me if the album had ended here.

But then … then comes the second half of the album, which forcefeeds epic down your throat with such savage intensity that it's unreal. Really the opening intro and triplet of songs was a set-up for the final triplet of songs, which are capital letter Epic, Huge and Apocalyptic. In "Crown of Creation", after an intense five to six minutes descending through soaring tremolo and angular riffing, comes a sudden break into near-silence with a lone, portentous tremolo melody in the distance, which then starts one of the most intense build-up and release moments I've ever encountered in black metal. This part is so good I'd almost pay full price for these few minutes alone. It's one of those segments that just gets bigger and bigger, more intense with each passing second; and they keep this up for three fucking minutes. Most bands can barely manage twenty seconds of building intensity, but these guys manage to do it for three minutes! This equals the ending of Keep of Kalessin's closer and title track for Agnen, which is very high praise from me.

The following song "Odem" has some of the fastest parts on the album and some truly stunning not-quite-solo-but-close lead guitar lines and succeeds in creating that flying at high speed through Hell feeling that only black metal is capable of, while the closing song "Towards Perdition" has the feeling which any self-respecting closing track of an album like this should have; triumph and closure. It sounds a bit more heavy metallish at times for that extra feeling of victory and pride and even has very nostalgic sounding acoustics at intervals. And then it ends with victorious martial drumming, highly positive heavy riffing, prideful, defiant clean vocals and a freaking solo!

Gods-be-fucking damned, what are you still reading this for, it's so good I'm using swear words and exclamation-marks! Get this right now! It does everything right and really provides a breath of fresh air amongst the current crop of black metal.

November 22nd, 2006