Liste der Bands Black Metal Flagellated Seraph Beyond Salvation

Whenever I review Black Metal albums I think there should always be some kind of disclaimer: I am not a big fan of Black Metal. At all. I probably own less than 30 records in this genre and really like 10 of them… You may wonder why the hell would this guy review this then? Because I thought it’d be Death Metal.

Not liking Black Metal does not make me not knowledgeable about it though and with this release it’s like it was almost meant for me. Flagellated Seraph comes from Sweden and just released their debut on Hellthrasher Productions. Whenever I read Black Metal with Sweden close to it, I get allergic reactions because I think Dark Funeral and their cohorts of clones which, to my ears, only offer a dumbed down version of aggravated brutality. Fortunately for me, Flagellated Seraph, even though it has its fair share of blast-beats is not just brainless brutality.

It actually boasts a fine mixture of more brutal parts and fine melodic riffing and leads. If you also consider that AsO, the band’s eminence grise, uses growls rather than the typical Black Metal shrieks, you may even understand why, I, as a Death Metal fan more than the rest, could enter so easily into these guys’ music. Still, you shouldn’t be expecting to listen to the next Archgoat because it felt more as if Hate Forest, Battlefields era, met Denial Of God. The band mentions similarities with Funeral Mist, but frankly as I know just a couple tracks from this band, I wouldn’t be able to confirm this.

From Saenko’s band, Flagellated Seraph borrows not only the vocals but also this cold riffing that is always reminiscent of some unexplored pine forest in North-Eastern Europe. The music is not as martial as the Ukrainian legends because of the added melody often absent in Saenko’s aesthetics though. And these more melodic parts are what reminded me of Denial Of God, a feeling exacerbated with the great use of organ which on a track like I Am The Flame gives the music this peculiar horror feel that only very few bands can achieve. The sound of the guitars must also be praised because even though they’re really like Black Metal in essence (of the Scandinavian essence) they sometimes display more “alternate” colors which, even though the music itself may not be compared to, reminded me of the specific guitar sound displayed in Negative Plane.

Mission completed! Even though I feared I would go through some unlistenable clonish band in the vein of Darkthrone or Gorgoroth, it turned out to be a very pleasant experience. People into the classic “true” Black Metal or the more war-like one should most likely stay away from this record. On the other hand, if you like any of the aforementioned band, there’s a greater chance that, like me, you will find fantastic qualities about this record. And if in the end, you feel as if this wasn’t written by the most competent guy out there (and who would blame you), I invite you to pay a visit to Hellthrasher Productions' website and see for yourself!