Search - Lord Belial :: Enter the Moonlight Gate

Quite unknown yet quite impressive

torquemada | beirut, lebanon | 03/27/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"this swedish band uses traditional melodic black metal elements (acoustic passages, female vox, -sparse-keyboards) to produce an unbelieavably powerful and aggressive music that is unmistakably theirs alone.
Dark screeches his way (especially on black winter bloodbath) through the album like a demon and behind him, an immense tide of sonic barbarism rushing to annihilate anything on its way. No prelude for the album, it just begins with a growled sentence (enter the moonlight gate) while the atmosphere builds up in a second into an infernal storm of guitars and drums and in the midst of it all, might come a totally unexpected acoustic break (still with the drums thundering behind) and just as you start taking a breath, the album resumes with its destructive rythms. similar in structure to its successor "unholy crusade". brilliant."

Atmosphere and Devastation all in one

Tom Z | USA | 08/14/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Lord Belial create a sound all too many have tried for and failed. Combining pure black metal with just a touch of melody and ambiance. Rarely do they put any keyboards or female vox or any other gothic influences in the songs and when they do it's in the interest of the song and not just copying Cradle of Filth like so many of their peers these days. In fact there are so little gothic influences black metal purists may even love this album. I appreciate all sides of the genre, pure, atmospheric, symphonic,etc. but the way Cradle of Filth and Dimmu Borgir like to hire symphonies to do the work for them is getting tired very quickly. Enter Moonlight Gate is one of the best black metal releases of all time. Dark's shrieks sound f*cking possessed throughout the album. The guitars sound a bit like a more evil sounding In Flames. The rhythem section holds up well and the little bit of keyboards, acoustics and female vox sound nice too. The production initially sounds horrible. After listening to the album a while it actually becomes more enjoyable though, because having no clear distinction between instruments makes Enter Moonlight Gate sound like an entity. Recieves a very high recommendation. Also check out Agathodaimon, Borknager, Ram-Zat, Ragnorok, Khold, Blut Aus Nord and Darzamat if you have some time."

Unreal

Matt Stoessel | Tolland, CT USA | 01/08/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"the journey you're taken on as you listen to this album is unreal. if you enjoy any kind of black metal or epic metal, you can't go on having not engrossed yourself in this beautiful work of art.



there's 2 songs that are different from the rest: Lamia and Forlorn in Silence. Lamia is a sort of dark romance that even if you don't like black metal that much, you should find a way to hear this song; this song is original compared to any song I've heard in my entire life. Forlorn in Silence is 4 minutes of stringed instruments and occasional whispers of lyrics that'll blow you away as well. The closing track is a 12-minute mini-story of being the son of satan - ANOTHER great reason to purchase the album.



something that separates this album from others is the occasional twist thrown in the middle of blastbeasts. I don't really know how to explain it. All I can say is that if you can't stand the monotonous blastbeating for 45 minutes, don't fear purchasing this album - yes, it is about 30 minutes of solid blastbeats, but the same guittaring is never heard twice and 1 or 2 second long breaks using the bass or alternating super-fast from blastbeats to non-blastbeats gives a lot of life to the songs you find those in.



All epic black metal albums tend to start the same way: the main character is summoned by evil in some way, shape, or form. This album's opener (also happens to be the title track) is among the best of them, up there with Graveland and Sacramentum (who I listened to both of yesterday). As with Sacramentum, keyboards aren't necessary - the main instruments do the job on their own. (maybe the newer bands should take lessons from these guys) Keyboards are used in only spots where they can be used to enhance the sound and add an eerie effect, a lot like a "finishing touch" to the more powerful areas of the album.



I can't recommend this album enough. These older black metal bands have written some of the most well-thought out music in the history of music, I think. Lord Belial is in this group. get this album now - you won't be disappointed."