Belphegor

Longstanding death/black outfit Belphegor certainly aren't of the "less is more" school of thought, with Blood Magick Necromance being their fourth Nuclear Blast release in five years. One listen makes it clear that even after all this time, understatement still doesn't figure too prominently in the band's musical vocabulary. In their latest sadomasochistic romp, all of this German outfit's trademarked brutal-isms are propped up by Peter Tägtgren's (Hypocrisy) ability to balance them with well-defined melodic parts. In fact, Tägtgren's crisp production plays an especially key role in this album, as taking it away would leave little of note to discuss. Much of Necromance's feel, like the title of "Rise to Fall and Fall to Rise," is redundant, featuring a mid-tempo death plod/quick blast of blackness dynamic that should suggest to the band that in the future, less output and more memorable material would be a better idea.