Sometimes I feel attracted towards a particular band in the first place for some elements that have nothing to do with the music itself. When I randomly picked up acts from the www.myrrthronth.de list, the name LORD (simple and very evocative) retained my attention, and then I surged on their website. All what I saw (the pictures, the influences revealed and even the very cool and elegant logo, all these things being very evocative and telling a lot) convinced me that this French band was worth to listen to. The samples on offer on the site confirmed the valour of LORD, so I ordered this album without any delay. To keep the things simple, in case you miss the golden era when EACH album in the Metal from the dark side field was important, full of eerie atmosphere and black energy, look no further because LORD is here. Figure this out: mix early BATHORY, early DESTRUCTION (“Sentence Of Death”), a tiny dose of early CELTIC FROST (in the few slow passages) plus some Norwegian Black Metal bits and pieces, add personal talent and ideas to round up the things, and a masterpiece comes out in the form of this album (the sophomore one of the band). The LORD people are here to declare their passion for Metal and nothing else, and this is plainly obvious while listening to this seven tracks offering. In fact I am respectful towards people like that, who dedicate their lives for the cause of our beloved music. And believe me, we are facing a major release here! Expect a really good sound which compliments superiorly crafted songs. Among the standout tracks (although there is no filler here) I would like to cite ‘Hell’s Fucking Metal’ and ‘Tormentor, Die By My Will’, which make tribute to the scene of old and induced intense breakneck sessions at my home), while ‘Apocalyptic Death Spell’ illustrates best the LORD love for the Scandinavian scene. The main quality of this album lies in the fact that once the listening session comes to its end, the songs will stay engraved in your mind like in the old days. The band is now a three piece, with a woman (Countess Hoggsogoth) at the guitar duties. Bassist / vocalist Charon graces us with a fantastic vocal performance; his voice could be seen as a mix of regular Black Metal shrieks with Schmier-like screams! And the drumming courtesy of Armageddon is tight and adds catchiness to the whole. I could praise this one for hours, it is the biggest surprise for me this year. I know that you the readers are facing tons and tons of so-called “essential” albums praised by a newsstand press sold to the interests of big labels. So do yourselves a favour, check out the mp3 on offer on the LORD website, I let the music do the talking, it speaks for itself really. Here are the necessary tools of information: lord.blackmetal.online.fr, and if you are interested to buy “Hell’s Fucking Metal”, I advise you to contact the band directly at lord.blackmetal@free.fr for sure reply (it is what I did to order). Bow to your knees and obey the LORD!