Metal Underground.com

After my first listen of “Totenritual” I asked myself if Belphegor has ever put anything out that’s been subpar. I think not... Since 1991, this Austrian extreme metal band has been as consistent as fire and brimstone in hell. With 11 full-length albums under the band's belt, the formula obviously still works.

Belphegor is still underrated as far as extreme metal acts are concerned. I can’t understand why since the production is always crisp and the songwriting rarely falls into rehashed riff mode. Belphegor doesn’t just throw songs together, the group composes them… and these compositions are searing.

“Totenritual,” as with most of Belphegor’s releases, is laced with satanic and necromancy subject matter, but if you’re a Belphegor fan, that’s what you love about them. The first track on the album, “Baphomet," is the equivalent of a torrent of demons escaping from the depths of hell. From there, the album just gets more insidious. My favorite track without hesitation is “Apophis – Black Dragon.” This is what pure evil sounds like. The interplay of the single note guitar runs along with that constant single note bass line is what I’ll call a baphmogasm. Yes, that’s not a word, but you read it here first.

Belphegor has created a gem that will surely stand out in 2017’s rash of mediocre extreme metal albums. If it doesn’t make the majority of 2017’s top 10 album lists, I would be shocked.

Belphegor is currently on tour in Europe and will be heading over to the U.S. after that. If you’ve never seen them live, make a point to catch them.