Revelation (The 7th Seal)

Lord Belial's Revelation (The 7th Seal) (Hereby Revelation) is something that looks ferocious but turns out to be pretty tame. It follows two chunky, doomy albums in The Seal of Belial and Nocturnal Beast, deceiving you into believing this will be the end of a trilogy of mid-era molten Lord Belial goodness. However, Revelation feels like it came off a black metal factory production line. After a while, you just kind of accept it for what it is and then keep it for completionist's sake. It's not bad even if it doesn't tread any new ground. The formula is as classic Swedish black metal as you'd expect, never supplanting their more far-reaching peers like Dissection, Watain, or Marduk, whom they sound like without being as 'monumental' if I'm to find a phrase to describe them all at once.

The biggest detriment to the album is the lack of any wow factor. Songs like "Ancient Splendor", "Aghast" and "Unholy War" are pretty good and do feature some nice melodic leadwork, but I wouldn't call them major standouts. Nothing has that pop to make me latch onto it like the other albums. The intro is skippable, the outro is underwhelming, and everything in between sort of keeps your attention by sheer familiarity. There are all these attempts to mix it up with guest appearances but the impact is minimal. The songs themselves aren't exactly thoroughly captivating with any major hooks or unique appeal. Andy LaRoque had been responsible for all of Lord Belial's main album productions since the late '90s and as a foundation it was working fine to a point. The songwriting is what was starting to let the band down.

The Seal of Belial and Nocturnal Beast both had fatter, clearer sounds that gave them a fuller soundscape. I'm talking punchier guitars, pronounced low-end support for weight, and dare I say a warmer tone. Revelation is more akin to mid-era Marduk with its cutting tremolo and chilly atmosphere. Like Marduk, it does have some nice basswork to grumble under everything neatly as the riffs shift into automatic mode. I can't say it's in service of much but it's one thing executed well. After a while, I do kind of get more accustomed to the sound, but one listen to a song on other Lord Belial albums and I'm back to remembering why this one doesn't compete well.

In the end, it's a major step down from the previous two. In a vacuum, it's a satisfactory black metal album that's not bound to end up on anyone's favorite list. It should have taken way more meaningful chances to truly be great. Swedish black metal riffing is capable of so much and you only get glimpses of it here. Not an album that'll turn you off, but one that you won't be checking out often. Too many other albums that sound just like this but are leagues better. Lord Belial's albums before this had qualities of their own to garner interest. The animalistic tone of "Angelgrinder", the molten The Seal of Belial, and the ominous Nocturnal Beast all had different vibes to them but remained catchy and memorable.

Melodic black metal is a little bit of an overlooked genre and not terribly well-respected among the metal community. Perhaps this is because of the lack of very many elite bands in the genre, minus Dissection of course, depending on the viewpoint of the person listening to them. Lord Belial has varied their sound over the years but is probably most often fit under the melodic black umbrella. They have gone from a more straightforward black metal band on their early releases to the more melodic approach, even adding some death metal influence to their sound at times. For the most part though, Lord Belial suffers from the major problem of their genre, they are ultimately forgettable.

This is a decent album, but it just does not stand out enough to require repeated listenings. Other bands such as Naglfar have much the same sound and also have some hooks to grab the listener. Lord Belial just does not have that ability. Many of the songs on the album begin to run together and sound very similar, in fact most of the songs on the album are structured the same way. There are a few exceptions but for the most part the songs are Verse-Chorus-Verse-Chorus and then either repeating the chorus or ending with a last verse. The songs that differ such as "Death as Solution", "Vile Intervention", "Gateway to Oblivion", and "Black Wings of Death" are the most memorable on the album.

For the most part, the instrumentation is decent. The drumming often consists of blast beats but is otherwise high enough in the mix and entertaining enough that it keeps the listener's attention while listening to the album. The guitars often engage in tremolo picking early in the song and during the choruses. The choruses often continue with the same rhythm and riff from the rest of the song except for adding an additional guitar line or heavier drums, or just being louder. The production on the entire album is crystal clear, which is definitely a plus. The music as a whole contains an eerie atmosphere.

The vocals are for the most part the same raspy roar. Thomas Backelin's limitations are very clear as there are frequently guest vocals which provide the only differences from Backelin's raspy delivery. The guest vocals are usually more interesting than the band's own singer which is a bit of a problem. In fact, most of them truly interesting aspects of the album come from individuals who are not in the band, although Hjalmar Nielsen who provided most of the guitar leads was previously in the band.

All in all, the album is decent, but it fails to truly grab the attention of the listener beyond it's runtime.

Sweden’s Lord Belial have been around since 1992 but have gone largely unheard of. Although being predominantly players of black metal, the band have varied their style, playing black/death or like on this new release, melodic black metal. Melodic black metal is a genre that is frequently held in contempt by many black metal elitists but those who are open to the genre will certainly be able to appreciate it, especially with its smooth clear production. In fact, this album was produced by King Diamond’s Andy LaRocque himself. With its cold atmospheres Lord Belial’s seventh full length, Revelation can be compared to the likes of Catamenia and Dissection.

A sinister instrumental ‘7th Seal’ sets the mood of the album and for the most part this mood is realistically contained throughout, aside from some clichéd guitar work. The vocals of Thomas Backelin are of an intense black metal growl that compliments the feeling the album aims to attain. Moreover on the song ‘Vile Intervention’ the vocals become more agonised mid-way, and on ‘’Death As Solution’ shouts are used as opposed to growls, providing some sort of vocal variety. The closing track utilizes growled spoken narration too that does not come off as cheesy at all.

The guitars are always playing beautiful cold music, occasionally pairing melody with heaviness like one ‘Vile Intervention’. However, their highlight is the solos, truly creative. For black metal, solos are never the centre piece but they are certainly worth looking forward to on this album. The only criticism about them is that they sound too joyous at times and appear out of place with the overall mood of the music, like on ‘Ancient Splendor’.

This album is worth picking up and aside from the solos there is nothing really noteworthy on the release yet there is nothing bad at all. Despite this, there is still enough to maintain the listener’s interest through the whole album. Fans of melodic black metal will certainly enjoy this album.

Originally written for www.soundshock.net

Lord Belial belongs to that category of bands that can hold one's interest, without being otherwise noteworthy. A generally fair offering of melodic black/death metal, with nothing amazing to speak of.

You have your requisite blast beats, throaty screams, melancholy riffage back to back with more aggressive death tinged riffage, and some anti-Christian, occult type lyrics.

The band might remind some of Old Man's Child here. Barred chords that seem to go for a "eerie" feel, but often end up being dangerously close to just cheesy. Though on the flip side, there are moments where the melodic black metal parts strike me as rather majestic, and even Viking-esque.

Ultimately, I'm afraid this band may be just another face in the crowd. A fairly good offering, but I can't really see anything remarkable. You'd have to be partial to this melancholy, not-so-cult style of black metal for it to be worth your while.