So tired am I by the current Black Metal carnival that I delayed this review beyond reason, expecting once again a goofy record to talk about. Well, my apologies to the band, since "Recipere Ferum" has proved itself an excellent album. ANIMUS HERILIS claim their foundation as soon as in 1993 (I am a little sceptical about this, lot of musicians willing to be tied with the Black Metal "classic era" doing just so, and why this huge gap until the release of their first full length?) and hail from France. "Recipere Ferum" offers 8 tracks of raw-to-the-bone Black Metal played on furious mode exclusively. No filler here, all the titles are equally good and the ANIMUS HERILIS psychos know how to each time inject the extra special twist that transforms a banal song into a superior crafted one. The overall impression made me thinks of a bad sounding SETHERIAL, the intensity is the same, a really good point. I suppose the crude sound is here for an "authenticity" reason, too bad because the album could have beneficiated a great deal of a more glossy production (in a DARK FUNERAL way). The lyrics are in French, but like it is often the case, one can’t distinguish the shrieked words among the deluge of noise levelled by the band. But for the French speaking readers, let’s say that they are above average, escaping the ridicule of an ill-digested basic Satanism. The inclusion of a Baudelaire’s poem ("Les Litanies De Satan") gives an indication of the intellectual ambition of these dudes, and their own lyrics don’t pale too much next to the words of the genial French poet. "Recipere Ferum" is more about a Promethean / Luciferian revolt against all God things related than about running naked through a snowy forest with a plastic axe in hand, that’s coming as a relief if you ask me. These musicians have built up a solid Black Metal record, full of dark anger and aggressive desperation which could adorn every serious collection without any problem. A must have if you ask me. www.animus-herilis.fr.st.