Artist: Urgehal
Country: Norway
Label: Agonia Records
Formats: LP / CD
Year: 2006
I have to say I haven’t been much into this band before, but after their show with Shining a little earlier they convinced me. Urgehal is one of the very few Norwegian black metal bands that actually fits in the term ‘True Norwegian Black Metal’ and hold all the true values of raw black metal high. Unlike many of the originators of that same term. Even a band like Gorgoroth, the only band that is said to be the only band left from what once was the Norwegian black metal movement, is not able to come up with anything this impressive…
This is already the bands’ fifth album and a natural progression is easily heard throughout their whole discography and it is almost needless to say that this “Goatcraft Torment” is their best effort so far. Their hypnotising kind of raw black metal has been perfected and formed into the best imaginable formula. Slow dragging and filthy black metal in the best mid-tempo tradition with some exceptional blistering blasting tempo changes. “Risus Sardonius” is maybe the most typical song of the album and can best be described as Darkthrone’s “In The Shadow Of The Horns” from their “A Blaze In The Northern Sky” effort with the production and fierceness of their recent “The Cult Is Alive”-album. Not a bad description/compliment and it was honestly earned through hard labour and total dedication to the secrets of the black arts. My black metal pick of the year so far!
