Metal Underground.com

It would seem there’s just no rest for the wicked. Barely over a year since the release of “Walpurgis Rites – Hexenwahn” (reviewed here), Austria’s Belphegor returns with even more hyper sexual Satanic mayhem. Much like the band’s previous work, “Blood Magick Necromance” is essentially a staple of blackened death metal that will keep the fans happy, but isn’t going to necessarily win over any new converts who weren’t convinced before.

“Blood Magick Necromance” was conceived in the famous Abyss Studios with the able assistance of Peter Tägtgren, whose influence is readily apparent throughout the album. Whether it’s the writing or the production, Belphegor’s latest album does have a slightly heavier feel than other recent works. It’s not that the songs are any more brutal than before, it’s just that they maintain a consistently heavier feel for longer stretches of time.

With only minor exceptions, the album is almost always directly in the listener’s face, spewing sexually charged hate. Followers of the band already know what to expect, and that doesn’t change on this album. Anyone who hasn’t made the trek into Belphegor’s depravity before had better be ready for phrases like “savor my blood cum” to be frequently screamed at full volume.

“Blood Magick Necromance” maintains the same general vibe heard in earlier efforts, and many of the tracks use the same base sound, which leads to a good deal of blending between the songs. The seven minute title track veers away from that formula, creating expectation with building drums to work up an epic feeling. The song alternates repeatedly between slow and fast segments, providing some much needed balance. “Rise to Fall and Fall to Rise” is another song that breaks out of the rut, using a surprising amount of melodic guitar work. The ending of “Impaled Upong the Tongue of Sathan” also throws in a little old school charm, with some keyboards and whispers that are done right without going overboard.

Belphegor fans should already have a pretty good idea of whether “Blood Magick Necromance” is going to land on their “must have” lists. Anyone who could get into “Walpurgis Rites” will like what’s going on here as well. The disc has a few new ideas, but overall the band is simply continuing the same basic sound that’s been heard for years now.