Though they've been around since the early days of the initial Norwegian black metal explosion, Urgehal have never really been a household name, but with a handful of releases to their credit, they've managed to create a nice little niche for themselves on the extreme metal underground for close to 25 years. With the death of their lead guitarist & vocalist Trondr Nefas a few years back, the band have decided to call it a day, but not before releasing the last bit of recorded material that they were working on prior to his passing, which we have here in the form of Aeons in Sodom. The remaining members of the band, bassist/guitarist Enzifer & drummer Uruz, have enlisted the help of a slew of notable vocalists on the black metal scene to help finish up the album, including Nocturno Culto (Darkthrone),
Hoest (Taake), Mannevond (Koldbrann), Niklas Kvarforth (Shining), Sorath Northgrove (Beastcraft),
Nattefrost (Carpathian Forest, Nattefrost), Nag (Tsjuder), Bay (Sadistic Intent), and R.M (Angst Skvadron).
With a blend of traditional Norwegian black metal, old school thrash, speed metal, and some basic rock 'n' roll (or black 'n' roll as we sometimes like to call it), Aeons in Sodom hits pretty hard & heavy, the bands Satanic themed lyrics seeping through a wall of blast beats, jagged guitar riffs, and a variety of extreme metal vocals. As Nefas has a pretty original way of singing, the assortment of singers enlisted here try to pay tribute to the late guitarist, but of course their own styles come through in the process, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Nefas' blistering solos & whammy bar divebombs are all over these songs, many of which also contains some terrific riffing, which considering how he passed before all these songs were finished, is quite the achievement. Hints of Venom, Immortal, Hellhammer, Motorhead, and of course Darkthrone permeate the entire album, with highlight tracks being "Thy Daemon Incarnate", "The Iron Children", "Norwegian Blood and Crystal Lakes", and the absolutely crushing "Psychedelic Evil". There are even two fun covers here, Sepultura's "Funeral Rites" and Autopsy's "Twisted Mass of Burnt Decay", both well done and a nice addition to this set.
Aeons in Sodom seems a fitting send-off to the late Trondr Nefas, a tasty collection of black metal material that I'm sure he would be proud of.
Track Listing
1. Dødsrite
2. The Iron Children
3. Blood of the Legion
4. The Sulphour Black Haze
5. Lord of Horns
6. Norwegian Blood and Crystal Lakes
7. Thy Daemon Incarnate
8. Endetid
9. Psychedelic Evil
10. Woe
11. Funeral Rites (Sepultura cover)
12. Twisted Mass of Burnt Decay (Autopsy cover)