Belphegor - Goatreich – Fleshcult

BELPHEGOR - Goatreich – Fleshcult (NAPALM Records CD 2005)

Another Belphegor review? I didn't plan this, but why the hell not? It's gonna be short, but I just wanna recommend another cool album from these Austrian blasphemers. 

Another Belphegor album and another one, which I like a lot. This is "Goatreich – Fleshcult" from 2005. I like this album almost as much as "Lucifer Incestus". Again the band delivers a bunch of killer songs and the quality of the whole material is just incredibly high. Even though someone may say that Belphegor really does the same thing over and over again and such album as "Goatreich – Fleshcult" doesn't bring anything new even to their style, it doesn't matter. This band sounds like no other band and it's rather obvious that they should stick to their own, characteristic sound and style. And if the quality is still there, no problem with it! 

Yet again Belphegor shows how well you can combine such different aspects as aggression and ferocity of extreme death / black metal with insane catchiness and hooky songwriting. It's just unbelievable how easily listenable this music is. They can play some insanely fast and vicious stuff and have disgusting, abhorrent vocals, with ultra-fuckin-blasphemous and brutal lyrics, but it sounds so damn memorable anyway! And if they include a killer harmonious parts within the song structure, then the result is even more catchy and interesting. Definitely Belphegor always keep a nice balance between both aspects of their music – extreme and melodic sides of it. And tempo wise "Goatreich – Fleshcult" is also very well balanced, as along ultra-fast, blasting pieces like "The Cruzifixus - Anus Dei", "Swarm of Rats" or "Fornicationium et Immundus Diabolus", there are almost sort of doomy tracks like "Sepulture of Hypocrisy" and "Kings Shall Be Kings". 

Best songs on the album are definitely those in the beginning of it: "The Cruzifixus - Anus Dei", "Bleeding Salvation" or "Fornicationium et Immundus Diabolus" and then also killer "Swarm of Rats" and "Festum Asinorum / Chapter 2". But yet again, just as it was with the previous album, I don't feel like any of these songs that ended up on "Goatreich..." would sound like a filler. Good album, great listen and a necessary item for your collection.

Standout tracks: "The Cruzifixus - Anus Dei", "Bleeding Salvation", "Fornicationium et Immundus Diabolus" 

Final rate: 75/100