Truth be told, the last two Gorgoroth albums (2003’s Twilight of the Idols and ‘06’s Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam) weren’t all that great. Sure, the drumming of Satyricon’s Frost on Ad Majorem… was kinda cool, but that grimy, dirty black metal vibe wasn’t there. Fast-forward three years, get around the legal battle over the band’s name, the coming-out of now ex-singer Gaahl, and total revamp-job of its lineup and you get Quantos Possunt Ad Satanitatem Trahunt. And it’s a killer.
With the lone holdover being founding member/guitarist Infernus, Gorgoroth has returned to the primitive, riff-based approach of their seminal Incipit Satan andAntichrist albums. There’s no warp-blasting speed here; instead methodical, focused tracks that are decidedly simple and direct. Of the nine songs
, there’s not a dud in the bunch – it’s almost too cohesive for a lineup that has had barely a year to gel.
Highlights include the opening rampage of “Aneuthanasia,” the eerie “Rebirth,” catchy-as-fuck “New Breed” and “Human Sacrifice,” where new singer Pest lays out some throat-raping howls. We are treated to some frenzy on “Satan Prometheus,” but it’s off-set nicely by “Introibo ad Alatare Satanas,” a track that emerges as one of the most haunting in the Gorgoroth sphere.
More often than not, albums of this nature (read: band reforms with sole original member) are subpar; we’ve seen it happen a million times. Gorgoroth, though, and more specifically Infernus have emerged triumphant. In fact,Quantos Possunt Ad Satanitatem Trahunt is a triumph, one that does an excellent job of making everyone forget about the past decade.
(This content originally appeared on Blistering.com)