Element of Destruction

This review originally appeared on the Deaf Sparrow Facebook page on 14 July 2016. Written by Stanley Stepanic.

So I pretty much hated everything about this when I first listened to it. I'm utterly sick of Satan in metal. It's gotten to the point where it's not even embarrassing, it's just a waste of time. A further problem is I've been plagued by a few subpar bands of this type from Germany over the past year. What is it with Germans and banal black metal that everyone pretends is worthwhile? See, these guys xeroxed their band photo and HAND-DESIGNED their logo in SHARPIE MARKER, so that means it must be accepted at face value as just too elite for you. Whoops, I mean "yov." Crap aesthetic does not make anything good for that fact alone, and it's a poor method for hiding that you simply can't write anything worthwhile.

Black Priest of Satan, however, even though they ride the Satan thing into the ground without realizing it's a dead horse, are probably the best band of this type from Germany I've heard in awhile. "Element of Destruction" manages this by combining typical black metal with elements of doom and an occult mysticism that lends a more atmospheric, instead of snow-swept, quality to their sound. This, combined with their pulpit chanting, is much more provocative. They know when to wail, when to apply feedback static, and how to record in a cave without losing too much production value. I get it, lo-fi is key to this type of music, but at the same time it's not an excuse. So Black Priest of Satan won me out, a little, because they've got more style than most. But, regardless, that Satan thing is tiring and honestly not even worth a yawn. Lyrics about prophecies, sex with nuns, or whatever, isn't even worth criticizing anymore. If you want some Satan, well you'll get that here, but thankfully the mediocrity of this type of approach isn't glaring in this release, and they may surprise you here and there. Thanks to Deathstrike Records for keeping metal dark. You should all really check them out. Black Priest of Satan, though, in true German cultness, doesn't have a Facebook page, only something on last.FM. Insert laughter here.