Of Darkness Divine

I first noticed of this USBM off-shoot many years ago when they partook in a James Murphy benefit show in Detroit. Their stage presence was quite killer and energetic, something one needs for the take-no-fucking-prisoners world of extreme metal. So thrown was I that I had to have some of their recorded works, hoping that what existed in CD form would be just as exciting as their stage setup.

It didn't...but it ddn't suck, either.

Cheap film samples aside (unless your Rob Zombie you won't be able to properly and tastefully use movie samples, I'm sorry to say), the musical performance on what appears to be BLACK TRINITY's third demo is pretty top rate and tight given its very very VERY rough production value. Speedy, blast-beaty black metal is the order of the day, with a king's ransom in good ideas that are unfortunately squelched under the weight of its physical recording and some very "pissed off fifteen year old" lyrical subject matter (most guilty with the first track, "Demonic Pleasures"), but nevertheless the band gets the ball rolling from day and track 1 with buzzsawing guitars, blistering drumwork, and angry troll shrieks that showcase someone more than a little miffed at those damned Christians. The energy that came about when these corpse-painted hooligans were onstage seemed to end there, as while the performance is top notch and down-right wicked, there's a bit of a truncation present in that the songs don't quite sound like they're used to their full capacity. Nevertheless, the likes of "Triumph in Blasphemy", "Ebony Ablaze Thy Beloved Night Sky" and "Frozen North" show more better ideas than your average USBM entity, and while it doesn't get as many listens on my end as I'm sure it would like, it does get it every once in a while.

In the end while I can excuse it being as messy as it is due to its demoness, I wouldn't mind hearing these tracks getting a much more professional sounding recording. But as it stands, the good ideas that exist, in a way, make up for all the limitations this recording presents.