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Imperador Belial > Curse of Belial > 2019, CD, Mara Productions (Limited edition, Digipak) > Reviews > Edmund Sackbauer
Imperador Belial - Curse of Belial

Imperador Belial - Curse of Belial - 89%

Edmund Sackbauer, January 23rd, 2020
Written based on this version: 2019, CD, Mara Productions (Limited edition, Digipak)

Just by looking at that cover one can be sure that the music on „Curse of Belial” has to be as old-school as it gets. Hailing from Brazil this is the second full length album by these black metal warriors and they have gone down the 100 % old school route.

The first thing I came to notice is the very raw and basic nature of the sound. The production screams eighties with especially the drums having this typical slightly steely tone. The guitar work is excellent and the often monotonous and stoic main chords are accompanied by some crazy lead harmonies. While the main themes are often repeated with only small variation the longer and shorter soloing parts are played with high intensity giving the whole music a very rough and wild feel.

The song-writing is clever and on point. Such kind of music asks for straight forward song structures and harmonies that are easy to follow and enjoy and Imperador Belial totally deliver on that front. In between all the frenetic riff attacks there are great hooks and some of the chorus parts are very memorable. Overall “Curse of Belial” is an album that you can also enjoy while driving around in the car or doing your workout.

One highlight of this record for sure is singer R. Inkubus. He has such a beastly and demonic voice barking out the lyrics in convincing manner. He surely does not need to behind other big names. While the song-writing might not be as outstanding as on some classics of the genre this is one of the best modern alternatives you might find.

Like mentioned at the beginning the cover artwork highlights the great old-school feeling with the CD edition coming as nice looking digipak. So in case you are looking for a great dose of slightly modernized old-school black metal then I highly recommend to order this one in physical form.