From the arrival of their debut ‘’Ordre du Diable’’, Polands Teufelsberg welcomingly shun the spotlight and conventions of modern black metal. Their second album ‘’ Pakt mit dem Teufel’’ continues this open hatred for the new and continues their own raw, dark, primal path where hatred is legion, and the hordes continue their assault upon the meek.
Evoking the primal energy of the eighties with its Frost-inspired ugghs and shrieks. Teufelsberg creates that cavernous vocal style from the underworld combined with raw guitar tones that are as painfully slow as they are vitriolic. ‘’La Beauté du Diable’’ is a torturous journey through the depths and shuns completely the modern sounds of Black metal. ‘’ Gospel of Diabolical Freedom’’ is pure eighties black metal, its beat merciless, its sound drawn heavily from its Polish roots and the European aesthetic. It is a track that is unhinged, its madness barely held together by the rhythm section, the vocals at opposing odds to the guitar riffs before it unfurls itself into a slower old-school riff that is no less heavy. Some of the keyboard parts are at odds to the raw within, brief bright spots of melody as ‘’ Wpiekłowstąpienie (in Herrlichkeit in mitten der Flammen) demonstrates their multifaceted abilities when it comes to the celebration of the blood pact. ‘’ Noc walpurgii, Lucyfera dar!’’ is the madness that celebrates Lucifer’s gift.
‘’Pakt mit dem Teufel’’ is an album that is inherently defiant and proud of its left-hand path. Its sense of darkness and mortality at times is incredibly tangible and bleak beyond measure. Be warned, all who venture forth, there is no hope here. The abyss and dark master awaits, preceded by the sounds of madness and the apocalypse.
Teufelsberg: N/A
Release Year: 2023
Label: Signal Rex
Category: Album
Country: Poland
Reviewed by Sparky
