Massive Terrestrial Strike

The second attack of Norwegian black metal band Urgehal shows improvement of production from their previous release Arma Christi, which although featuring great songs could have used some more power to the sound. This album has a lot of power to it, and is a much more intense release. This album really stands as the blueprint for the rest of their career, harsh aggressive and old school hymns to satan, evilness and death.

The drums are very intense here, showing a great performance, which propels the frantic guitar riffs and heavy bass sounds. The riffing and songwriting is a step up in intensity from their earlier recordings, but they still know how to change up their direction, there's little of the kind of one dimensional type of black metal songs that one often hears. The vocals are probably the weak point here, being recorded very dry on some of the songs, they sometimes stick out a bit too much, but they still work. Also I'd say they don't sound as evil and possessed as on later recordings, but I like the fact that you can pretty much understand what's being said on many songs.

The lyrics aren't as good as on Through Thick Fog Till Death, but they work in the context of the recording, which is highly hate filled, anti-Christian and old school in intent with some occultic aspects.

The atmosphere on here really kills, being very sick and hateful. Dissonant riffs resound and meld with old school thrash riffs, sometimes some melody sticks its head out, to be cut down by some mid tempo or slow highly morbid feeling sections.

Like I said at the start the production is much more forceful here then on Arma Christi, it's not quite as fine tuned as they'd get with their last three releases, which are powerful and grimy at the same time, but it's clean with enough grime to not be too clean. Plus there's no triggers or any of that kind of shit, so the drums sound organic and live played, which is a big plus nowadays.

If you like Urgehal's later releases this should be on your list to pick up, it's quality throughout and evil to the core, maybe not classic, but regardless essential listening for those who like their black metal real and pure in feeling and lacking in bullshit.

Hmm yes, so very eeeevil. Apparently that's all that Urgehal cares about: acting evil and making very sure you know how evil they are. Unfortunately, after the nearly forty years of metal's existence, it seems that for many people the general lexicon of evil hasn't really expanded. Urgehal is one of those groups of people who haven't discovered a new way to rebel against society, so they simply repeat the rebellion of others and hope no one's noticed. Fortunately for them, most people haven't.

This is an absolute clone of Darkthrone's 'A Blaze In The Northern Sky' and 'Under A Funeral Moon'. From top to bottom. There is not a single note on this album that would seem alien on either of those two. Every riff is copied from the Nocturno Culto school of guitar. Every rocking or blasting drum beat is taken from them. The shifts between Celtic Frost style crunch and binary blasts and howling are exactly the same. Urgehal is a Darkthrone clone with absolutely nothing more to it than empty replication. Attitude almost never carries an album on its own, and this case is no different. Urgehal don't sound convincing enough to pull off such totally unoriginal music. The cloning itself is only passable really; none of the material here conveys any of Darkthrone's intensity and brilliant songwriting, and it's very clear that this is a case of simple copying rather than drawing information from the same places.

Really, there's nothing more to this album. Urgehal is a Darkthrone clone who were good enough at cloning to make the metal scene love them. I suppose if you desperately need more Darkthrone in your life you can listen to this, though I wouldn't really recommend it at all since it's artistically empty and offers nothing new or even anything old yet inspired. With the state of metal as it is though saying any of this will likely stop no one, so feel free to buy the limited vinyl version of this album and congratulate yourself on keeping it true.

This is Urgehal's Massive Terrestrial Strike, and it is a great piece of work! Unlike the other review, I feel like there is a great amount of uniqueness to this LP. I have the limited original LP version, so I'll also be able to comment on the bonus track, Nyx. It is a lengthy and exciting piece of black metal, and in my opinion, the best work that Urgehal has released.

It starts off in a blakk 'n roll sort of way, but by the end of 'The Sodomizer', you can tell the direction that the album will go. An aggressive direction that is old-school black metal style. The album also has a score unique parts though, example? There are about four really good solos. Nyx (the bonus track) has one that is one of my all-time favorite solos. The song structure and development of each track is also unique and interesting. I greatly appreciate that, as constant tremolo picking can get boring. There is also dispersed but very powerful use of keyboards and double vocals.

Overall, you get Urgehal's best release in my opinion, I also suggest finding the LP version if you have the means. The bonus tack is a full, well developed song, not just an extra track for frills.

What the fuck, a black metal band from Norway that actually plays black metal? What's the world coming to? So far these freaks have puked up three albums (well, the last one is more of a long EP), and since i've yet to hear Arma Christi, i'll go right ahead and say that Massive Terrestrial Strike is their crowning achievement. This is pure Bathory and Darkthrone worship - nothing even remotely original, but they spit out their hateful black art with such fury and bile that one can't help but be impressed.

Initially, I was somewhat taken aback at the beginning of "The Sodomizer" - that's a total rock'n'roll drumbeat right there. Never to worry, once the guitars kick in it's pure blackened vomit. Plenty of string-bending riffs, ripped throat vocals and tempo variations are thrown into the mix here, particularly on the epic "Supreme Evil" (complete with some great, retarded lyrics about Satan raping christians) and the trudging "Image Of The Horned King". " The Saturnine Denomination" is no slouch either, total Under A Funeral Moon thievery on this one. Then there's the morbid dirge of the closing ditty "Flames Of Black Candles", which summons a glut of depressive psychosis that makes me want to sacrifice goats (or even sheep, which are far more easily obtained around these parts...)

With only 7 tracks in 36 minutes, this is certainly a bit too short for it's own good (much like the first 3 Bathory albums in that respect), but there's not a second wasted. So if you think the Norwegian scene is now comprised entirely of posturing fags (Faustcoven being the other obvious exception), go check out some Urgehal and prepare to be unpleasantly surprised into giving yourself whiplash.