DV8

Being the side project of several of Greece's most important metal acts, it's understandable that there would be gulfs in Thou Art Lord's release schedule. Sakis Tolis was off touring and storming the world with his mainstay Rotting Christ, while Magus Wampyr Daoloth enjoyed a lesser measure of success through Necromantia. The vocalist Gothmog had exited the premises by this point, so Sakis and Magus would both serve as substitutes, but they also brought in a pair of hard hitting guests: drummer Lethe of Mournblade and Order of the Ebon Hand, and guest vocalist Spiros Antoniou of atmospheric death kings Septic Flesh. Perhaps the highest profile lineup of any Thou Art Lord recording.

DV8 is also the best produced, sound better balanced than either of its predecessors Eosforos or Apollyon, while maintaining the same black/death hybrid aesthetic laced with slight touches of the symphonic or atmospheric elements that the members' had used in their primary bands. "A Chaldean Hex" features crisp, driving guitars redolent of the harder Rotting Christ material, while eerie harpies and subtle choirs are threaded through in an almost electronic context. I rather enjoy the break with the horn over the thrashing bridge riff that then explodes into the lead, and it's a straight shot to the intense thrasher "Baphomet's Meteor". But these are not the only tricks in Thou Art Lord's deck: with "Behind the Druid Walls", they prove they can lovingly mesh a brutal, modern death metal aesthetic with walls of pulsing atmosphere and razor black riffing, and in "Society of the Dilettanti", they even offer up a mock groove/nu-metal sequence with bouncing rhythms and harmonics, only to sacrifice it into their snarling momentum.

If there's anything wrong with the album, it's that a few of the tracks move at near identical paces, and the patterns become familiar: crash, burn, and throw a couple of curious twists to the formula which are just enough to distract the listener from feeling he/she just heard the song a few minutes prior. Sleek, modern and deadly, and perhaps the best proof of concept that Thou Art Lord has ever released, but still lacking the overall distinction of the members' mainstays. Daoloth keeps the bass busy, but since it's just not as important here as in Necromantia, we're far better introduced to Tolis' guitars. Otherwise, though, the engineering of the album truly brings the band's varied elements into the 21st century, without throwing their original style of Eosforos entirely under the bus. If you liked the previous albums, then I see no reason you wouldn't also enjoy this. It's a marginally superior effort, but believing these practiced gentlemen capable of a more poignant slurry of miracles than what they've developed here is entirely warranted.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

For those who do not know, Thou art lord (apparently named after the classic Acheron song), is the black metal all-star Greek band, consisted by Magus Wampyr Daoloth (ex-Rotting Christ, Necromantia) and Sakis (previously named Necromayhem, guitarist/vocalist of Rotting Christ).
For this recording, the two main members have hired Set' (ex-Septic Flesh) for the vocals.
The cd starts off with two strong tracks, "A chaldean Hex" and "Baphomet's meteor".

However, they are not as good as the following one, "Crowning the Winged Skull (Enthroning the Dragon", the album's best track in my opinion. After a noisy bombastic guitar riff, all instruments stop and a hellish chorus fades in, repeating the words 'Rex Grandis Mundanus Spiritus Impius Est', creating an occult and very dark atmosphere. In this chorus are participating some well-known artists from the Greek extreme metal scene, namely Gore from Horrified, John and Makis from Negative creeps and Merkaal (who came into the studio very drunk and offered himself to sing) from Order of the Ebon Hand. Furthemore, Sakis chants Magus' satanic lyrics with his cult Greek accent, and the hellish chorus works as a refrain. A masterpiece for sure.

The following track, "Society of the Dilettanti" is another highlight, not as good as the previous though. In this track all three members sing their own parts, resulting in a fantastic chorus. After the good-but-not-that-good track "Desire, Lust and Incubus" comes the hedonistic "Eyes wide shut and lips wide open", with an addictive chorus, fine riffing and daring moaning samples to the end of the track.
Finally, "The shadow doctrine" is just good, "Behind the Druid walls" is the second in quality track of the album. Superb riffs, unmelodic guitar work and excellent vocals by Magus. (although it reminds me a little Mayhem from time to time, but it doesn't matter). The album closes with "Those we guide", whose satanic lyrics were written by a mysterious unknown guy named Nemo.

Generally, this album sounds satisfying, with (relatively of course, we are talking about black metal here) good production, very interesting guitar disharmonies, and of course, percussive annihilation. I give it 85%, though something in the back of my head tells me to give more.

Additional information: Akis K. sits behind the drumkit (Necromantia, ex-Septic Flesh), and in the back of the booklet one can read that the Church of Satan has given its eulogies for the creation of this album! Basically it reminds me of Acheron...

In short: Well done, Sakis and Magus...a very interesting choice for every metalhead.