A super group of sorts that finds David Vincent fronting a band with the guitarist from Mayhem and the drummer from Crptopsy. Vincent's voice sounds pretty great, he has made some stylistic shifts so it is not just his trademark growl. Sometimes he now bellows with vibrato. It comes across more like singing than growling. When they pick up the speed on "Misere" that works as well without the more deliberate groove. There is an even more rapid-fire attack after this song, that has more of a Morbid Angel feel. His lyrics are articulated well.
"Mephisto Manifesto" is an example of what it sounds like when this project is playing to their strengths. There is a slight hint of "Where the Slime Live" which makes sense as they should take influence from Vincent's work in Morbid Angel. It is more mid-paced so the song is allowed to groove in a way that the vocals flow with ease over. "Scorcher" is faster, but works in an almost Judas Priest-like manner. It also shows the strengths of the producers as they dialed everything in just right, despite the guitar behind less forward in the mix.
"Invictus" works more often than it does not. "Nature's Fangs" offers a more death metal-like hammering. It is also allowed to ring out with melodic dissonance, as Vincent offers some of his death metal growls proving he can still do them he is just choosing this different vocal expression. The last song is the first one that strikes me as having a black metal vibe. I will give this album an 8.5, it finds a balance between their styles and makes it work.
7
pst119
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