Looks like the bottom on my promo stack was not so bad after all! Ad Luciferi Begnum is the last of the five CDs received from the infamous Pulverised Records. It was not as painful as expected.
The great cover art is pretty self explanatory, and we are right away thrust into their musical world as the album begins. This is where furious blast beats, beastie vocals, and great guitar work reside. Vanmakt is some sort of guitar band, as the line up consists of two guitar players and a bass player. Don't worry though, no drum machines were used, but a real session drummer. Perhaps too much on the fast line for me, Ad Luciferi Begnum includes great guitar playing to compensate. Crunchy/ juicy riffs on one side, delicate arpeggios meet distorted ones and some leads too, on the other. Their take on Black Metal is melodic and the compositions come with atmosphere in bonus. Besides the usual beastie voices, we can hear some choirs, ritualistic / Satanic incantations, spoken words with effects, and even a bit of female vocals on "The Ascension", one of the very best tracks. The songs that comes right after, "Beneath the Moon" is also excellent with its great crushing riffs and clean arpeggios.
All in all, Ad Luciferi Begnum is a nice slab of Black Metal, with a bit too much blast beats and lots of great guitar performances.
Track Listing:
1 - The Second Key
2 - Brethren Di Lucifer
3 - Endless Myth
4 - Re-Incarnating Hatred
5 - Ad Luciferi Begnum
6 - To Kill Inferni
7 - The Ascension
8 - Beneath the Moor
9 - Written in Blood
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