Twenty years of blasphemy for Hell-Born.
With this seventh album, simply titled VII, Baal Ravenlock (bass/vocals, Damnation, ex-Behemoth), Les (guitar/vocals, Damnation, ex-Behemoth), Diabolizer (drums, Towards Hellfire, Morbid Winds, Mordhell, Ohyda, Zmora), and Rambo (guitar, Towards Hellfire, ex-Bloodthirst) have signed with Deformeathing Production.
The Polish band kicks things off with the sound of waves on Therion Calls, the opening track at first mysterious then ultimately quite heavy and dissonant, creating an unsettling atmosphere ripe for occult tones, especially when the vocals kick in, further amplifying the aggression. There are a few backing vocals that echo the dark harmonics, but the track suddenly cuts off to make way for Chaotic Entities, where a new sample gives us a chance to catch our breath before letting ourselves be overwhelmed by the darkness, which takes on tones similar to the previous track. The usual traces of violence are, of course, present in the riffs, but I also detect a certain melancholy in the solo before the rage returns, as well as in the leads of In Scarlet and Death, which follow in its footsteps and offer a highly contrasting sound. Of course, the band’s signature intensity is present here, but the track leans more toward a heavy atmosphere than outright aggression, unlike Blood in Stone, which takes a much more aggressive approach despite its calm introduction. Grunts, screams, and macabre laughter take turns breathing life into a relentless rhythm section, even drawing on some thrash influences before a suffocating finale that leads into The One with Horns and its own darkness, while the foundation remains head-banging and infectious. Let’s return to pure Black Metal with the misty Funeral of All, which floods us with harmonics before drawing on Death Metal roots to propel the brutality to another level. But the album is already drawing to a close with Exodus (Cross the Styx) and its certainly energetic, but above all unifying approach, that will likely leave our necks sore, but which also makes use of backing vocals to make itself a bit more accessible, or much more mystical.
Polish bands aren’t known for pulling any punches when it comes to Black or Death Metal, and Hell-Born certainly doesn’t disappoint! VII is a true treasure trove of violence, but also of occult tones!
85/100
