And to Every Beast Its Prey

Weltmacht are Judas Iscariot with a different name and a lack of punch. Judas Iscariot are very well known for their unrelenting style of black metal which blackened the hearts of many fans all over the globe, Weltmacht however, do not have that ability. Where Judas Iscariot punch a hole in the sky and invade heaven with it's blackened blood, Weltmacht merely scratch the surface lightly.


Monotonous music is perfectly fine if it is carried off, however Weltmacht lack the edge and fierce backbone that Judas Iscariot had which helped them maintain their status as one of the leading bands in the United States scene, as well as increasing their world-wide popularity amongst buoyant black metal fans who craved more. Weltmacht are by no means a disgrace to the black metal industry, but they aren't that great either. Mediocrity is too strong a word to describe this particular album as I do quite enjoy it and I enjoyed The Call To Battle as well, but it's nowhere near as influential as Judas Iscariot was. It's harsh to suggest that the members of the band who played in Judas Iscariot are using their 'fame' from that particular project to increase the appeal of this very outfit, but it would seem likely. Liking something by association is not uncommon.


Weltmacht are all about creating tidy symphonic and sweet-sounding riffs over a pleasantly clear production. The vocals are similar to that on Judas Iscariot, which is a comparison I hate to harp on about but it's necessary to understanding what Weltmacht sound like. The rather surprisingly slow drums are affective and palatable. They're not overly creative or inspiring, but they do a good enough job to capture and contain the interest of the listener. The main positive behind the band is simply it's ability to be able to control the listeners attention span and secure the fact that the listener will give them a fair chance in impressing.


However, Weltmacht never really get going. Each and every song seems to be on the verge of really taking off just before they end. It's disappointing considering the association to such a band as Judas Iscariot who wonderfully churn out masterpiece after masterpiece with inspiring ease. A severely detrimental aspect of Weltmacht is the fact that all the songs are fairly similar to the last. Songs tend to merge into one and lessen the impact they are meant to have upon the listener. Sure, there are enchanting and somewhat euphoric melodies created by the constant riffing of the guitars and the vocals are steadfast throughout, but is that enough? Not really is the answer.


There are no real highlights as it's all rather similar, as aforementioned.

This is Weltmacht's second album, and it's the first one from them that I heard. The music sometimes reminds me strongly of the canadian Megiddo, especially the sound of the guitar, but the melodies are more pagan influenced. Sometimes it also makes me think of Graveland. Weltmacht do use a keyboard, but they do it in a decent way, so it's a good addition to the music. The songwriting is indeed strong and well structured, so no riffs or melodies are repeated too often and get boring. You can hear that it's the work of experienced black metal musicians. The only thing that I sometimes don't like too much is the vocals, as they are distorted from time to time. But furtunately these appear not too often, so they don't actually worsen the whole impression.
Conclusion: This is a real quality black metal release. If you like the stuff from Judas Iscariot and Graveland you should take a listen.

A hard biting sound, fairly slow and monotonous droning guitar riffs produced with the intensity of a rusty saw on human bones. Drums that appear to be putting rhythm to the march of millions of devilish warriors on the path to the unholy war. A voice so cold it’ll make you wonder the man’s sanity. Well paced and perfectly arranged melodies and sparse keyboards that never force themselves to the listener but add to the atmosphere created by the strings, battery and voice.

That’s as good a description as I can find for the second Weltmacht album called “And To Every Beast Its Prey”. Weltmacht is a project by United States Black Metal (yes, it’s a subgenre) gods Akhenaten (Judas Iscariot), Lord Imperial (Krieg) and Cryptic Winter ( Judas Iscariot and Krieg). I had never heard of this band although I do own a couple of Judas Iscariot albums. This release takes us back a few years to the glory days of bands like Darkthrone and Burzum. This music is of course hard to do in an original fashion and most bands that try this fall pale in comparison to their inspirators. But this album much like most Judas Iscariot has something that most of these clones don’t. This album sounds genuinely inspired. The feeling is straight from the (undoubtedly black) hearts of the musicians and there’s a deep level of emotion in these songs.

For old Black Metal fans that have given up the hope that “True” Black Metal was alive this should inspire some fond memories and hope for the future. For the younger fans that think that Old Man’s Child and Dimmu Borgir are “Evil” this could be a valuable lesson and great first encounter with True Black Art. This album can stand proudly in my collection between Burzum’s “Filosofem” and Darkthrone’s ‘Under A Funeral Moon”.

(This review was originally written for http://www.lordsofmetal.nl and is republished with kind permission of the webmaster)