Time Signature The evil within...

Genre: old school black metal

The masters of minimalistic black metal strike back with their ninth album - scheduled for release in May. Not much has changed musically since "Blood of the Pentagram" and last year's "Netherfiend", and we are still dealing with music that has a lot in common with first wave black metal and very little in common with Norway-inspired second wave black metal.

The music is dark and simplistic, on the verge of being primitive, and - although there seem to be more riffs per song on this album than on earlier releases - Geavewürm basically stick to the less-is-more doctrine. Riffwise, there is some pretty good stuff on the album, much of which has more of a midtempo thrash feel to it, and parallels may be drawn to the grimmest work by Hellhammer/Celtic Frost and Bathory.

The production is far from polished, and the screechy vocals are rich in reverb, which creates a strange contrast between the darkly atmospheric vocals and the crunchy and earthy instrumentation. I do not know if this is on purpose, but there are a couple of places where it sounds like the drums and the rest of the instrumentation are out of sync (as in 'The Beast of the Abyss'), which kinda throws my listening experience for a loop. Given the band's, long career and massive experience, I think this effect is intended though, and I am sure that fans of Gravewürm will appreciate it.

Minimalistic, dark, and 100% Gravewürm, "Infernal Minions" is an acquired taste. fans of the band are bound to totally love it, but the uninitiated probably won't even be able to understand, let alone appreciate, it.