- Apr 5, 2003
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Gorgoroth - Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam
Candelight Records - CDL252 - July 25th, 2006
By Brandon Strader
The latest release from Gorgoroth... what else must be said? Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam is wicked beyond words,just like their last album, Twilight of the Idols, yet packing a lot more punch this time around. I purchased Twilight of the Idols a few years ago, and it never clicked with me. Perhaps it was Gorgoroth's odd sound that turned me off, or maybe I was just way too soft on black metal back then, who knows. All I know right now is that Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam is, for lack of a better word, swell.
The first song on the album, "Wound Upon Wound", is a catchy and rhythmically pleasing song, if a word like catchy can be used for Gorgoroth's brand of pummel-and-shriek. For a short 31-minutes, they display the master works: large use of minor chords and tremolo that are smothered by cymbal crashes almost to the point of being unhearable, a lot of blastbeat sections accompanied by a slightly inaudible double bass, and of course the grinding screams and growls - great job there! Although the music is not overly technical, mainly using basic minor chord progressions, scales, and some powerchords here and there, it is probably not meant to be a testament to technicality, nay. Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam in it's final form, with the vocals and effects, reverb and all that creates it's own kind of atmosphere. Sure, it's short as heck for a black metal CD, but it's a nice grim journey through the depths of Gorgoroth... You better bring Sting with you to fight off the Orcs!
Let's not forget these are the dudes who got in a lot of trouble for that DVD they were filming wherein they crucified naked women upside down, and decapitated goats and such on stage. I was really looking forward to that DVD... unfortunately I never heard about it being released after that, though the criminal investigation has been dropped. One member, the self-proclaimed "King Ov Hell" just left a couple months ago due to a difference in ideological beliefs... A pretty lame reason to leave such a good band. Infernus and Gaahl have done their share of damage in society, including Inferus's accusations of gang rape and kidnapping, and Gaahl's accusations of "aggravated assault" and threaning to drink a man's blood. Sure, people will worship black metal bands for their outrageousness and murderous behavior despite how bad the band may be. This is a case, however, where the band is actually good and I couldn't care less of their criminal history. Since when is drinking blood a crime? Vampires do it all the time.
7.5/10
UM's Review Rating Scale
Official Gorgoroth Website
Official Candlelight USA Website
Candelight Records - CDL252 - July 25th, 2006
By Brandon Strader
The latest release from Gorgoroth... what else must be said? Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam is wicked beyond words,just like their last album, Twilight of the Idols, yet packing a lot more punch this time around. I purchased Twilight of the Idols a few years ago, and it never clicked with me. Perhaps it was Gorgoroth's odd sound that turned me off, or maybe I was just way too soft on black metal back then, who knows. All I know right now is that Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam is, for lack of a better word, swell.
The first song on the album, "Wound Upon Wound", is a catchy and rhythmically pleasing song, if a word like catchy can be used for Gorgoroth's brand of pummel-and-shriek. For a short 31-minutes, they display the master works: large use of minor chords and tremolo that are smothered by cymbal crashes almost to the point of being unhearable, a lot of blastbeat sections accompanied by a slightly inaudible double bass, and of course the grinding screams and growls - great job there! Although the music is not overly technical, mainly using basic minor chord progressions, scales, and some powerchords here and there, it is probably not meant to be a testament to technicality, nay. Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam in it's final form, with the vocals and effects, reverb and all that creates it's own kind of atmosphere. Sure, it's short as heck for a black metal CD, but it's a nice grim journey through the depths of Gorgoroth... You better bring Sting with you to fight off the Orcs!
Let's not forget these are the dudes who got in a lot of trouble for that DVD they were filming wherein they crucified naked women upside down, and decapitated goats and such on stage. I was really looking forward to that DVD... unfortunately I never heard about it being released after that, though the criminal investigation has been dropped. One member, the self-proclaimed "King Ov Hell" just left a couple months ago due to a difference in ideological beliefs... A pretty lame reason to leave such a good band. Infernus and Gaahl have done their share of damage in society, including Inferus's accusations of gang rape and kidnapping, and Gaahl's accusations of "aggravated assault" and threaning to drink a man's blood. Sure, people will worship black metal bands for their outrageousness and murderous behavior despite how bad the band may be. This is a case, however, where the band is actually good and I couldn't care less of their criminal history. Since when is drinking blood a crime? Vampires do it all the time.
7.5/10
UM's Review Rating Scale
Official Gorgoroth Website
Official Candlelight USA Website
