Belphegor return with their fourth diabolical masterpiece and again prove they belong at the pinnacle of the death metal genre. Lucifer Incestus takes no prisoners in its astoundingly precise and high-speed execution. Like... more » a tank plundering out of the loudspeakers, Belphegor's latest offers colossal production by Alex Krull (Atrocity, Liv Kristine). A mega blast opus of the highest caliber!« less
Belphegor return with their fourth diabolical masterpiece and again prove they belong at the pinnacle of the death metal genre. Lucifer Incestus takes no prisoners in its astoundingly precise and high-speed execution. Like a tank plundering out of the loudspeakers, Belphegor's latest offers colossal production by Alex Krull (Atrocity, Liv Kristine). A mega blast opus of the highest caliber!
"I believe the description of their music as "Death/Black Metal" is accurate, because it contains the traits of each. You can hear equal parts Morbid Angel and Mayhem, so if you like one but not the other there is still something here for you to enjoy.
The production is excellent and superbly heavy, which would be part of the Death Metal contribution since black metal is typically raw and under-produced. Keyboards are quietly present here and there, but not too often.
Of course, the artwork is worth the price alone and gets even better inside the booklet, using real nude women and not drawings! However, the back cover does not show a nun getting "@ss raped" as claimed in another review, but rather giving a demon a piggyback ride.
Finally, the lyrics are rather interesting as well. These guys have perversion on the brain for sure (check the song titles), but one line in particular I think really defines their style:
"Take tons of loads in your kisser!"
How can you go wrong with that?"
I thought this was gospel music!
Brasington | Riverside, CA United States | 07/28/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"
Put this one on yer Xmas list. Mom will love buying this for you! Especially with the nun getting @ss-raped by Satan on the back cover--old ladies love that sort of thing! Just ask Oprah.
Belphogar get called "death metal" by the reviewer, but this has less in common with Morbid Angel than Mayhem. That is to say, this is more of a black metal sound with a slightly more visceral vocalist. The Emperoresque keyboards swirl around the surging beats in a cacaphonous melee throughout the entire album. The guitars and brutality are up front, however, so Belphogar really is more of a mix of black and death metal. Their sound isn't entirely original, but they have enough rage and musical prowess to make up for it. This is a slick CD, from the songwriting to the production.
I give it 4 instead of 5-stars for two reasons. One, the songs get repetitive after a while, and two--the constant fascination with satanic imagery is a little monotonous, too. I can take that sort of thing for a song or two, but honestly our greatest enemies aren't all religious; most of them are wealthy politicians and corporate lackeys. Why don't more metal bands tackle that mendacity.
Sure, the Satan-thing was a subversive way to protest the ignorance of organized religion, but my eyes see much larger pockets of evil in the world. I challenge a band like Belphegor go prove that it's not a one-trick pony. Come on, guys, you've got the chops...
Overall, Lucifer Incestus is a great CD to listen to when you're p!ssed off or when Oprah tries to sell your Mom some Deepak Chupacabra books on the TV.
"
Fast, fast, fast
Joseph D. Losch | Bartlett, Illinois United States | 09/22/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Ok, I have officially found a band with faster hyper-blast beats than Marduk. These guys are nuts.
I would honestly buy this just because of the drums, period.
If you like FAST death/black metal, this is a good album. If not, don't even bother."
Austrian Black Death barbarians' blasphemous masterpiece!
Vorthog | Ontario, Canada | 12/18/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I totally love these guys!
Never heard of Belphegor? Well prepare for a Metal assault from the depths of Hell like none before!
Their sound combines the blastbeating speed of Marduk and the steamroller heaviness of Abominator, then adds their own unique highly sexually-charged blasphemous twist.
Lead guitarist Helmuth's vocals are perfect. With his thick Germanic accent he sounds like Ahnuld/Conan's possessed barbarian brother.
As others have noted, Belphegor's lyrics are about as subtle as a sledgehammer to the head. -- Which fits them just perfectly. You want flowery lyrics? Go listen to Cradle of Filth. THESE guys are all about pure brutality.
They love incorporating some Latin into their songs as well (--what, you didn't know the language spoken in Hell is Latin?), and in fact the album starts off with the chilling sound of a demon in Hell giving his minions a dire command in Latin. From there on, a look at the song titles and a listen to the clips should convince you that it's pure sacrilege in all its dark glory for the rest of the album. And they like to close their albums with final tracks that sound like unholy hymns, in this case featuring all the denizens of Hell joining in.
I love the "hey look at me, ain't I crazy" lyrics booklet pics of the band posing with knives and guns. They're so over-the-top they're hilarious! Bassist Barth (had to retire from the band in 2006 due to a career-ending accident) seems to have a snake fetish, so the CD's label is covered with writhing snakes, and snakes also figure prominently on the cover. And don't forget the centrefold pic of a couple of X-ian nuns being "intimate". Yeah, they seem to have a real thing for nuns and sexuality (For Amazon customers who share their tastes, check out a book available on Amazon called "The Convent of Hell". -- You'll thank me. ;) ) --Which brings me to another of my favourite things about this album: the BEST~est album cover art EVER, by the incomparable Graal. What can I say? Take a look for yourself and see if you don't agree.
If you can track it down, the limited edition digipack version of this album also features the music video for the title track. -- one I guarantee you won't be seeing on TV anytime soon cuz it features a naughty naked nun doing things at an altar.
This band just seems to get stronger and stronger with every album, but this one (their 4th studio album, released in 2003) is my fave because it has the highest dose of what they do best: their trademark decadent combination of perverse sexuality and religious blasphemy, all wrapped up in a crushingly heavily-armoured Black Death Metal shell that'll run you over like a tank -- a tank driven by unholy barbarians from the wilds of the Alps!
For their latest album (2006's "Pestapokalypse VI"), Belphegor have finally signed with a label willing to back them up all the way, and so they are currently in the midst of their first ever North American tour. I hope this helps to finally give them the wider recognition they so richly deserve and cements their standing among the ranks of the blackest ov the black.
So if you like your Metal heavy, fast and blackened like Marduk, Behemoth, Krisiun or Abominator, I would say you should DEFINITELY check this one out.
"
"Fukk The Blood Of Christ", how can you go wrong with this??
Armando L. Martinez III | 05/09/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is the band's fourth studio full-length, and is perhaps the fastest record these guys have put out. While the death metal aspect of this band takes more of a back seat than it did in Necrodaimon Terrorsathan for a more black metal-esque sound, it's still a good record that's worth listening to. Hell, it even comes with a videoclip, so you definitely got to get this."
Track Listings (9) - Disc #1
