Massemord – Luciferi Imperium

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MASSEMORD is a Black Metal band that originated in Norway, in 1993. They have been active for more than 25 years and have released a staggering 15 albums. They return to the fold to once again bless us with their evil black metal sound with their new full-length album, “Luciferi Imperium”. The opening track, “Be Cursed”, appeals to my nature immediately with the classical music intro. The track also comes in with a more death metal sound to me. At least there are elements of death metal that I can hear within the sound. Which is fine in my book. It is not often you get to hear prominent drum sounds in black metal, they usually seem to get lost in the fold a bit. That is what I appreciate about this album, the instrumentation is very pronounced. It couples well with the vile vocals of Sicarius.

There is a great balance of the slower sounding vile black metal, coupled with the faster riffing, like in “INRI”. The track has a blistering gut punch sound. The musicianship of MASSEMORD especially shines as the drum cadence is built into an instrumental melody with the guitars. “The Age of the Wolf” begins with a more thrash-like sounding intro before returning to the vile black metal sound present throughout the album. There are a lot of musical elements mixed in with MASSEMORD’s sound. I can distinctly hear thrash, death, and folk metal influences. It makes for a very well-rounded black metal sound. “Chaos Within You” even brings in what sounds like an industrial metal ending section. I keep being impressed with the multiple genres I hear mixed into this album.

MASSEMORD has a storied career, and they continue that with “Luciferi Imperium”. The pronounced instrumentals bode well for their overall sound. The production value does not suffer by the hands of the recording. The various tempo changes and genre blending allows for an entertaining sound throughout. MASSEMORD has solidified themselves as underground black metal fixture, and they will remain in those ranks with this album. Bang your heads to this one.

Songwriting: 8
Musicianship: 8
Memorability: 7
Production: 8