Eternity — Pestiferous Hymns - Rev. I-I-XXXIII
From the very start of the album, the typical cold and cacophonic sound of black metal guitars reigns supreme and the riffs are reiterated ad nauseam, creating a nice "mesmerized" state of mind. Eternity's sounds and song structure are totally crystallized in time, and "Pestiferous Hymns.." really seems to come straight out of the past. I'm sure that this will put-off some people but frankly I can't complain much about a sincere obsession with the roots of black metal. While the guitars and rhythmic session have the right amount of punch and power, pure aggression doesn't seem to be Eternity's main goal. The brutal rage of metal is contained by glacial and sometimes melancholic soundscapes. The album's production is very clean and clear, maybe even too much for my taste. As Immortal taught us, this is a good trick to evoke a grim and cold atmosphere.
The highlights of the album in my opinion are its most anthemic moments: "..Of Satan's Blood" is especially effective in this, being the fastest song of the bunch and having an extremely catchy chorus ("Your God means nothing to me/I am of Satan's blood!/Your life means a shit to me/I am of Satan's blood!" - it might be childish but it works!). The vocals on the other hand are sometimes a bit tacky, especially when main and backing vocals collide in not very fruitful ways. The chanting and moaning is also a bit cheesy (the start of "Black Clouds On A Psychic Horizon" is terrible), but i suppose it's mostly a matter of personal taste.
In conclusion I think that "Pestiferous Hymns - Rev. I-I-XXXIII" is a good album. It doesn't offer anything new and it's even a bit boring and monotonous, but it's good, old and honest teutonic black metal that has a few classic moments.
My wife is not of the same opinion though. After a long hiatus, here is this week's Poppy's Corner: "They should be called The Moaning Faggots Of Darkness."