TRACK LISTING

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*Comments:

1.  A Breath from the Chasm Within
2.  Playing with Loss
3.  Antarctica
4.  Void
5.  A Godless Prayer
     (Death Means Nothing to Us)
6.  Net of the Doomweavers
7.  Cut the Withered Flower
8.  Written from the Trenches
9.  Train to Nowhere
10.  The Decline
11.  Storm
12.  Sublime Forces of Nature

Total playing time:  42:34

Release Date: April 15th, 2011
Label: Ketzer Records

Daemonlord - Godless Prayers

Reviewer: Chris

August 30, 2011

Black metal emanating from Spain is somewhat rare even today in a world where every damn country has turned ‘black’ in the metal underground at least…thrice. From the onset of Daemonlord’s newest release titled Godless Prayers I’m more than a little impressed at the near Vinterland ease that permeates the room with the first track, “A Breath from the Chasm Within”. I consider the Vinterland release one of the greatest black metal releases ever, so for me to actually say this reminds me of that is a very good beginning.

I’ll be honest, when the music began its sadistic sounding pace I was excited and hoped the vocals would sound more like Atilla or Jon from Dissection, but the scratchy gasping style kicked in and was only slightly underwhelming if for no other reason their similarity to a few dozen other vocalists; believe me, the vocals grew on me relatively quick. While this release is infinitely rawer than the Welcome My Last Chapter opus, there’s a similar darkness and cold that simply seems to cover the entire recording. With vocals that are clear (as clear as black metal can be, anyway) and instrumentation that is attentive in regards to structure and style this album seems like a must-hear for the black metal movement in 2011.

While occasionally drifting out of the somewhat foreign zone of Vinterland and into the familiar comfortable aura of Blood Fire Death-era Bathory, the music transitions pretty evenly between distinct familial tones. While not exactly the sonic equivalent of De Mysteriis dom Sathanas in terms of horror and dimness, Daemonlord will leave you quite happy if the old-school middle 90’s black metal is still relevant to your perceived battered ears. It’s hard to believe, but there are definitely a few bands left out there that find honesty and integrity a vital component in metal music.

The title track is one of the more bleak tracks on the album, reminding me of Dissection’s finest moments on The Somberlain, while other songs stick to the basic fluid style we’ve come to miss so dearly today while calling for its early death in 1997. When a black metal outfit like Daemonlord comes around and dissects the proper elements of the genre while retaining and sustaining the true dark encompassment of what the music is supposed to embody we tend to relish it. The thing that makes Godless Prayers so cutting above the rest is the rare, but evident basic elements of NWOBHM found in “Cut the Withered Flower” only to give way to some very Burzum-like sounds that capture perfectly the musical fog that is supposed to hover overhead whilst serving your dark lord in the privacy of your room.  Rarely do I find myself so engrossed in a black metal release, but this certainly fits the bill accordingly. From beginning to end I really enjoyed this album and I’ll be seeking out the band’s back catalog in the coming days.

All in all, Godless Prayers may not change the state of the genre; we all know that nothing can rectify the million wrongs that have been implemented with such sickening discord. With that in mind, accept a brief glimpse into the recent past that seems to get further and further away as more bands find new ways to infuriate and molest a corpse long in need of burial. Daemonlord might well be the exception on all points big and small.