You’ve got to hand it to Belphegor. They’ve established and developed a style that is instantly recognizable from the first few notes. The same goes for artwork. The cover to their twelfth studio album depicts a group of demons surrounding the crucifixion set in ominous black and white tones. Haunting and beautifully blasphemous, Belphegor is sonically as sinister as ever.

Once bands reach a certain point in their careers and have pushed out several albums, it can be difficult to keep their sound fresh and exciting. With The Devils (Nuclear Blast), Belphegor, for the most part, slows things down, creating a darker and more sinister sound. Don’t worry, there is plenty of killer tremolo picking and crushing riffs to spare. ‘Virtus Asinaria – Prayer’ is a perfect example of this new slower approach that includes layered vocals and melodic guitars that provide the perfect haunting atmosphere. 

On the opposite end is, ‘Totentanz – Danse Macabre’ is a furious sonic assault filled with their signature sound. ‘Kingdom of Flesh’ is another banger filled with lyrics, riffs and solos that are sure to stay plastered to your skull long after listening. 

‘Creatures of Fire’ slows things down to a crawl with a slow march and some extremely haunting sounding female vocals added for the perfect dramatic effect. ‘Blackest Sabbath – 1997’ is an excellent closer for the album. The song is a cool added bonus that is monster mashed from the melody of 2 songs from their 1997 album, Blutsabbath.

With The Devils, Belphegor proves that old demons can still learn a few new tricks. With slower tracks that include plenty of pitch and tone changes, Belphegor are going for an emotional feel with this release while not sacrificing any of their signature sound. 

Buy the album here: https://media.nuclearblast.de/shoplanding/2022/Belphegor/the-devils.html

8 / 10  

ANDREW RISCH