How misleading can a cover art be? I was under the impression this would be a boring military/destructive/kill them all type of album. Hiems is in fact the Latin word for winter and a one man project from Italy. Worship or Die is his second album, and international debut.
Worship or Die is far from being a simplistic piece of violence that contains no subtleties. This CD gets better as you go through it and grows on you with every listen. Great sound production unveiling some powerful and juicy Black Metal arts that won't compromise ambience or harmonies; those are the keywords to remember. Sole master Algol demonstrates his musicianship, creativity and somber /disturbed soul on this sickly good album. I can't help but fall for crushing riffs, distorted arpeggios and cleaner guitar work, all of which pulsate mostly at mid tempos. Strong bass lines add strength to the power chords, while the deeper rasps tell his somber stories. Not resorting simply on double basses/ blast beats, Algol can produce some intricate beats by using progressive time signature, when the mood call for it. What blew me away was that on the last three compositions, he used the awesome sound of the Hammond organ. "290779" is an instrumental basically made of those great tonalities, while "Race With the Devil" is a purely Deep Purple-ish tune, highly reminiscent to the Fireball era.
For great Black Metal crushingness, you can check quite a few tracks like: "I", "W.O.F." and "Hiems".
Track listing:
1 - Worship or Die
2 - I
3 - Scum Destroyer
4 - W.O.F.
5 - Adventum
6 - Bringer of Light
7 - Wounds Just Death Can Heal
8 - Hiems
9 - 290979
10 - Race With the Devil
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