The Belgian trio of Goat Torment is unleashing their second full length album upon the world. Sermons to Death (Amor Fati) comprises about forty minutes of unholy racket in its blackest form. With extreme Black and Death Metal bands you can’t quite be sure whether the musicians take the genre too serious or not very serious at all, and with a title such as ‘The Defloration of the Holy Cunt’ it can still go either way. Regardless of the spirit of the album, the music is dark and heavy enough to satisfy any black cravings you may have.

While the intro has quite a rich sound, the two following songs start out with such a lot of crunchy distortion that the music seems to lack any sort of tone. In fact, I found myself checking my earplugs for damage. Luckily both ‘Bones Aligned’ and ‘Rising Dominion’ pull themselves together at some point, after which the riffs are very satisfying and the drums actually support the music rather than overcrowding it. Because the vocals are added in in the background rather than the foreground, they mix into the music really well.

Other highlights of the album include the joyous guitar solo in ‘The Domineering Profane’, the outro to ‘Of Fire and Brimstone’, and ‘Death is Crowned’. This last song is quite varied, and the slower section with squealing guitars really opens up the composition.

Most of the other songs on the album actually have a good sound from the beginning. ‘Hierarchy of Negligence’, for instance, makes a very good impression. The riffs are solid and although the drums could maybe have done with a bit more variation, the whole is quite agreeable. The blast beats are on point, and the galloping bass adds a touch of fun to the ensemble.

6.5/10

LORRAINE LYSEN