ALBUM REVIEW: The Order – Lucifer’s Child
Though black metal is more typically associated with the Nordic countries, no one could argue that the Greek black metal scene isn’t brimming with talent. Most notably, of course, the homeland of philosophy and democracy gifted the legendary ROTTING CHRIST to the black metal scene, but underground titans VARATHRON and MACABRE OMEN also call Greece home, along-side the excellent LUCIFER’S CHILD. A super-group of sorts, the members of the Athenian quartet boast an impressive history, with bands like the aforementioned ROTTING CHRIST, CHAOSTAR, NIGHTFALL and KARMA VIOLENS. All set for the release of The Order, LUCIFER’S CHILD harness a brand of atmospheric, melodic black metal that is impossible to brush aside.
Though LUCIFER’S CHILD are a relatively new band, with only one prior release to The Order – 2015’s The Wiccan – the experience of the collective musicians shines through. This doesn’t sound like the second album from a band who are still trying to find their feet and carve their own identity. The Order sounds like it was forged by veterans with a masterful grasp of their genre. Atmospheric enough to be immersive, brutal enough to satisfy your darkest emotions, and melodic enough to be a touch more accessible than the genre’s second wave pioneers, The Order is wrapped up in a production that is chilling and raw, but intensely enjoyable.
Opening with the three lead singles, Viva Morte, The Order and Fall Of The Rebel Angels, LUCIFER’S CHILD give the listener a run through of elements that build up the core of their sound, and showcase what can be expected for the rest of the record. Viva Morte comes in hard with a demonic, throat-shredding shriek and high octane, unrelenting riff work. It’s kicks off the record with a “to the jugular” approach, unrelenting in it’s ferocity and hearkening back to the sheer, untamed aggression of black metal’s early days. The Order‘s titular track offers a much more restrained affair, bringing in swathes of SATYRICON-esque groove and stomp, delivering an oddly hooky sound and drills into the listener’s cranium. Meanwhile, Fall Of The Rebel Angels sees a return to the fury of the album’s opener, showing that while there is more in LUCIFER’S CHILD arsenal than a scorching sonic bombardment, they are true to the weaponised aggression of their genre’s roots.
A sinister, somewhat unsettling atmosphere permeated through the opening tracks, but with Through Fire We Burn that atmosphere becomes fully immersive. The drawn out, haunting intro moves into an evil- sounding acoustic section before the track really kicks in, and when things get moving you can almost feel the temperature in the room drop as the frostbitten riffs and cold production envelops you. El Drago-Un brings back the savagery in the form of a five-minute, sonic assault, though the atmosphere is hard to shake and continues even in the most ferocious moments of The Order.
Driving towards the end of the record, the one-two punch of Black Heart and Haraya sees LUCIFER’S CHILD return to the atmosphere focused, restrained style we saw on Through Fire We Burn with Black Heart, before the stomping blackened groove of Haraya. With the short, spoken outro and final note of the former leading perfectly into the latter, the two tracks could easily have been two halves of one epic. The Order comes to a triumphant close with Siste Farvel. The unsettling intro to the album’s final song wouldn’t be compositionally out of place in the neo-folk offerings of WARDRUNA or DANHEIM, and a strong feeling of nihilistic melancholy runs through the atmospheric album closer. Largely devoid of vocals, Siste Farvel stands as one final piece of immersion, perfectly embodying the oppressively sinister atmosphere The Order has showcased throughout.
There is something truly remarkable about The Order. While ROTTING CHRIST‘s brand of black metal has gone into a very unique direction, LUCIFER’S CHILD offers a slightly more traditional style of frost-bitten ferocity for George Emmanuel to channel. Though The Order branches into atmospheric and melodic black metal, at it’s roots it is just as visceral and cold as black metal should be. LUCIFER’S CHILD have delivered a late-year opus, that’s absence from end of year lists will lie solely on the time of year it was released rather than the quality of the music. The Order is absolutely essential listening for any fan of metal’s darkest, most artistic of sub-genres.
Rating: 9/10
The Order is out now via Agonia Records.
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