ALBUM REVIEW: Hellfenlic – The Infernal Sea
When it comes to modern British black metal, THE INFERNAL SEA are arguably one of the best acts at present, not just musically, but as a live act as well. The stark shift towards a heady black ‘n’ roll style after the release Call Of The Augur in 2012 has served the band well in the subsequent decade, with their highly conceptual stage show and strong imagery and aesthetic complementing the weighty nature of their music and establishing the East Anglian quartet as near peerless within the UK’s black metal scene. The band’s latest, fourth album, Hellfenlic, is arguably their strongest work in recent years, and sees them blend together their trademark sound with a little of their solid black metal roots to create an incredibly layered and impressive album with very little in the way of fat to trim.
Lord Abhorrent starts things off with a rabid and abrasive offering, with muscular guitars, frenetic drums and searing vocals all creating a huge and visceral sound. It’s a bleakly epic slab of black metal with a few atmospheric and angular moments added to the powerful, doom-laden mix, setting the tone extremely well. Shadow Of The Beast, with its subtly jarring rhythms and melodic leads, takes the meaty, feral formula of the previous track and applies a leaner, more vicious aspect to it, with the vocals especially shifting from dense roars to haunting, cleaner moments with ease, taking the caustic ferocity of the album’s opener and making it even more punishing.
Witchfinder incorporates tight, galloping guitars and thunderous drums to create a sound that tempers the band’s black ‘n’ roll core with a generous dose of heavy metal, which make this feel grandiose though nonetheless monolithic. The rumbling bass undercurrent and feral vocals only add to this dark and weighty effect, elevating what is a more subdued affair into a cavernous and engrossing track. The Hunter reverts to the chaotic, belligerent sound of the opener, with animated hooks, acidic vocals and energetic drums all establishing a fierce, blistering sound, crafting another brilliantly bellicose behemoth with lots of great musicianship, and providing a new benchmark for this album in terms of sonic aggression.
Bastard Of The East is a punchy piece of black ‘n’ roll with excellent, chunky guitars and primal, almost punk drumming which when coupled with the bestial vocal deliveries makes for a far catchier but still utterly monstrous song that accentuates the many strengths of the band’s trademark sound. Black Witchery is a short, sharp shock of a song which, perhaps more so than any of the other songs, best exemplifies the noxious template that has featured prominently throughout this album, with imposing guitar work with a confident, hard rock swagger, and domineering basslines serving as a great backbone for another energised and memorable performance, with the hints of discordance, biting vocals and intricate drums adding a darker edge to the track’s core sound.
Frozen Fen veers in the opposite direction, with an overtly black metal sound built upon dissonant guitars, steadier tempos and the sort of eclectic, dramatic vocals that made tracks like Shadow Of The Beast so compelling, along with some impressive, sludgy bass hooks, all of which contribute to a visceral, hypnotic piece of music that’s arguably amongst this album’s best offerings. The final, lengthy track on the album, Messenger Of God, begins by bringing in acoustic guitars and violins, adding a folky element to the band’s driven, intense sound. It’s a slow-burning track that is initially quite reserved and steadily gathers momentum as the music reaches its climax, with only the vocals constantly being entrenched with black metal. It’s a fantastically broad-ranging song that provides a bombastic and incredibly effective change of pace from what has preceded it, bringing this album to a close in epic and stunning fashion.
This record is perhaps THE INFERNAL SEA‘s most powerful creative statement to date, standing up to even some of their most celebrated and underrated cuts. Although there’s quite a lot of the imposing black ‘n’ roll sound that they have become known for present within this album’s core sound, there are also a lot of subtler flourishes just below the surface that hint at a gradual shift towards something different from this style, whether that’s the folky touches of Messenger Of God or the more melody-driven, classic black metal feel of some of the album’s stand out tracks like Frozen Fen or Lord Abhorrent. This is one of those kinds of bands that only seem to go from strength to strength with each new release, and this feels like the sort of album that could establish THE INFERNAL SEA at the forefront of Europe’s, not just the UK’s, black metal scene.
Rating: 9/10
Hellfenlic is out now via Candlelight Records.
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