Gorgoroth's follow-up to 1994's Pentagram is the equally Satanic & blasphemous Antichrist, often labeled as an EP yet ironically only 4 minutes shorter than its predecessor. Regain Records' remaster job clears up the sound a bit and adds some volume, but retains the icy cold torrents of guitar riffs from the hands of Infernus, one of the true guitar heroes of the early black metal scene. Recorded in 1996, Antichrist is some pretty potent stuff, with Hat this time around still sounding as lethal, but his inhuman screeches and screams are a little clearer in the mix this time around (yes, that's even some brief clean vocals on the song "Gorgoroth", perhaps sung by second vocalist Pest). Mind blowers like "Bergtrollets Hevn", "Gorgoroth", and "Possessed (By Satan)" pummel the listener with crushing riffs and merciless blast beats, all trademarks of the early Norwegian black metal scene, the latter piece even containing some bulbuous bass grooves and traditional drum work. However, it's back to severe hyper-blasts on the instrumental "Heavens Fall", with Infernus riffing away with reckless abandon, and then off into doomy melancholia on the album's closer, "Sorg". Hat & Pest both deliver blood-curdling performances on this 6-minute piece, with tortured and ravaged vocals sounding like they gargled with broken glass before grabbing the microphone, and plenty of offbeat and doomy chants to round it out.
As with the Pentagram reissue, there's not much to look at as far as the packaging goes, save for a one-sheet card with song titles, line-up, and original recording notes. No lyrics, no bonus tracks, no photos...oh, but there is a fold-out poster, but again it's of the album cover, which is not much to jump up and down about. Overall though, Antichrist is a very solid 25 minutes of classic black metal.
Track Listing
- En Stram Lukt Av Kristent Blod
- Bergtrollets Hevn
- Gorgoroth
- Possessed (By Satan)
- Heavens Fall
- Sorg
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