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October 8, 2008 |
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01. A Wise Birthgiver
02. Wall Of Water
03. Great Work Of Ages
04. Deconsecrate
05. Illuminate Eliminate
06. Psychic Horns
07. Key To The Storms
08. Anti
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When it comes to surprises, MAYHEM have probably become the undisputed champions. The too experimental aspect of "Grand Declaration OF War" (2000) had left most fans in total disarray to their triumphant return four years later with the devastating "Chimera" and its indiscriminating destructive power, which was considered to be their highest accomplishment since "De Mysteris Dom Sathanas". It is safe to say that these pioneers of the Norwegian Black Metal movement just go with whatever their inspiration of the moment dictates in order to spit out their poisonous hatred for mankind mixed with the most brutal honesty. For the release of their latest album, "Ordo Ad Chao", Season Of Mist has not skimped on the promotion. In a similar way to the very original package of the previous disc, the new album comes in a very neat metal case and, of course, as always with MAYHEM, it's even better to discover what's inside.
If you were expecting this new opus to pick things up where "Chimera" left off, I'd rather let you know straight of the bat - it's not going to happen! Even if the fury that appeared to animate all creative songwriting power three years ago, it's expressed in a totally different manner on the present selection. After the first track, "A Wise Birthgiver", where vocalist Attila growls out the lyrics in the grimmest manner, things become even more intense with the faster "Wall Of Water" and certainly will not stop with "Great Work Of Ages". The following composition, "Deconsecrate," goes deeper into a desperately dark and creepy atmosphere. Once you're finished listening to "Illuminate Eliminate", which almost reaches the 10-minute benchmark, you will probably understand why some people have always counted the quartet among the greatest geniuses in extreme music, while others were way too quick to dismiss them.
I still haven't been able to identify some of the screams I've heard here and there as human or animal. Of course, there is no need to mention the level of virtuosity with which each song is executed. The combination of Hellhammer's drumming with the proficiency of bassist Necrobutcher is more bone-crushing than ever, and Blasphemer's riffs are top notch! The super fast "Psychic Horns" will make several other Black Metal compositions seem phony as well as insipid. After a blunt acceleration comes the super-heavy "Key To The Storm", where the double bass drums are almost overwhelming. The title of the final song, "Anti", just expresses with no ambiguity what MAYHEM is all about and closes the album in the most aggressive manner.
Whoever thought that Norwegian Black Metal was now dead should listen to this album and realize that as long as MAYHEM are around, that will not happen! "Ordo Ad Chao" is the one of the greatest Black Metal albums recently released. After a first introduction to it, it will keep growing on you and keep coming back to haunt you. It should be illegal to listen to this disc while driving especially if you have road rage issues.
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