Black Witchery-Upheaval of Satanic Might (2005)

This is the kind of dumb black metal album that I have an admitted weakness for. Getting by on nothing but a professed aesthetic of speed, Satan, and corpse paint, Black Witchery barely qualify as music. This is a band that polarizes even in the extreme underground. But there is something about the repetitive blur that is enthralling and addicting. It really does have to sink in a bit, you really do have to acquire the taste. Comparing this to their previous outpouring of hate, 'Desecration of the Holy Kingdom', there is a bit of musical advancement here. The riffs are audible, and is not simply a collection thrashing atonality. But you are not here for lullabies, you came searching for a distillation of pure cartoonish evil, and Black Witchery fill that void ably.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Belphegor-Walpurgis Rites - Hexenwahn (2009)

This is a nifty blackened death/deathened black metal album from Austria. This 2009 release puts me in mind of a "Son of Northern Darkness" era Immortal, with the emphasis on crushing, slicing riffs and precise rhythms. It's nothing innovative or new, just quality metal comfort food. All the lyrics are bathed in the occult. The production is thick, the guitars adequately trembly and bass heavy, the drums clear and pristine, the vocals a black metal gargle, and somewhat processed. There are some really great songs here, and some weaker ones, best one being the evil majestic 'Veneratio Diaboli - I Am Sin'. Worth your time.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10