Review BELPHEGOR ‘The Devils’

Austria’s death metal heavyweights Belphegor have been one of the constants of a genre that has seen many bands come and go for decades. Founded in 1992, Belphegor started to bring their hard songs to the people. With the debut album ‘The Last Supper’ the band could achieved first attention, which was successively expanded.

In the meantime Helmuth is the only remaining founding member and clearly the brain and the black heart of Belphegor. Together with Serpenth and David Diepold he has finished a new album which is simply called ‘The Devils’. Album number twelve is not for the faint-hearted, which is immediately evident when listening to the hard-hitting opener. Vicious and diabolic riffing, raging parts and Helmuth’s bloodcurdling growls give you goosebumps. Belphegor play fast and have blast beats built in. However, ‘The Devils’ is not built on speed only. On the contrary, it’s the well-placed tempo changes like during the title track that make ‘The Devils’ interesting and entertaining.

In ‘Glorifizierung des Teufels’ Belphegor also do not shy away from an acoustic opening sequence, which is harshly disrupted by hard riffs, but continues to be a kind of leitmotif through the song. The trio shows that a devilish vibe has nothing to do with speed. It’s the growling tones of the underworld, along with diabolical barking, that create an unholy and mesmerizing expression that’s hard to resist.

In addition, Belphegor is known for mixing German and English lyrics, which is evident in ‘Damnation – Höllensturz’, among others. The track, with its nihilistic mood, rolls unstoppably into your ears and impresses with diversity and vehemence.

The trio manages to present with ‘ The Devils ‘ an album that skillfully deals with counterparts. Loud and aggressive are words that describe the album well and at the same time one finds even fragile moments of human existence set to music, all paired with a devilish grin. Belphegor remain true to themselves on their latest album, which will please fans and the Beelzebub.