Evil Shall Burn Inside Me Forever

Murder Rape returns five years later and three members short. Vocalist, Sabatan, left and pursued holy death metal, and drummer, Icthys Niger, eventually committed suicide. "Evil Shall Burn Inside Me Forever" is the band with a lot more energy. Where the prior slow and mid tempos twirled thumbs to pain and counted sheep to misery, this, however, treads forward with driving middle grounds and escalating blasts.

A track is traditionally named after the last recording, and the music still churns out characteristic black metal: higher toned vocals, less deep guitars and a mood that's painted in evil streaks. On one particular song the band honed the black-doom format and I wish there was more: "Z.O.E." reflects their past with a slightly drifting pace but with notes that take on arpeggios versus just going with a few that are rung out; the melodious leads add variation and definitely take the atmosphere to another level. The guitars switch between melody and aggression. There's faster double picking that grazes the strings with harmony and others that lay on the force. This is no stranger to thicker strings and palm mutes. But in one area after getting an assault of higher noted melodies in "Mistress of the Gloomy Nights," it gets kinda chuggy and doesn't match the flow. "Black Hateful Melody" clashes faster harmonies comparable to earlier Gorgoroth with an offset bridge that resembles basic-of-the-basic death-thrash.

The vocalist has a dry rasp/growl that could have used more "umph" to further his intensity as frontman. It really makes a difference, as the underlying music is producing enough elements to carry you along, but the voice to take charge of it doesn't fully overcome and has areas where it just gets by compared to other bands. I'm sure if a strict radio listener put this on it would have an instantaneous effect towards their nerves and former state of safety. However, this isn't producing anything new to extreme metal, or is even tried and true by compensating with engrossing charisma or bringing the listening experience to the forefront. They're not completely feeble or irritating, but some mixing levels make their delivery flush, and even with technique, some screams might not be rounded out, or some other vocal line might use only half a lung of air.

This has a fair share of moments that concentrate on the musical side of things, as the mood is less draining and overshadowing due to more notes and change-overs flying by. Some areas are indeed repetitive to sustain an atmosphere, while others dive right into it by being either catchy or just ready to tilt your neck back and forth: some with capability, others not that exceptional. Part of this is due to the lack of extra effects like the last had, where certain hits would fill the surrounding area with lasting resonance; it might have been simple, but in turn caused a little to go a long way. Here, the band feels less tall as some of the delivery is just "there," what you see is what you get.

This has a few more simplistic solos and the double bass pumps louder by the newest drummer. There's climax, returning moments and pressure and release in their composition; the fundamentals are here and I can imagine they would have had no problem improving on another recording since this is their first attempt into a plethora of fast speeds. "Hunter of Christian Souls" is a repetitive one and gets old by the time it finishes as it plays the same catchy cycle ad nauseam. Other than that track, this manages to have more change-ups than the last, though, even with that said, the uninspiring vocal performance and a few other kinks didn't send this to a higher altitude.

Murder Rape's third album is miles away from its predecessors. While the demo, the first and second albums were more doom-oriented, with slow, dragging songs; this one features rispid, straight-to-the-point songs that are fast and aggressive as hell. Lyrically it's the same as the band's first attempts, focusing on the hatred for christianity and the intention of seeing it and its followers destroyed, eliminated.

The departure of drummer Ichthys Niger (replaced by Dagorlad) might have had something to do with such drastic change in their musical orientation. When you listen to these songs and compare them to the ones in their previous albums, it's difficult to imagine I. Niger (whose drumming in the demo and 1st album were erratic to say the least and regular in the 2nd one) playing them. Dagorlad could run (or play) rings around the former drummer who, curiously enough, went on to form a band who tried to play very much in the vein of this new direction taken by Murder Rape and which featured MR's former singer and guitar player... go figure.

Well, the opening with "... and Evil Returns" hits you squarely on the head like a ton of lead. No intro, no slow part to set the mood, nothing. It alternates fast, mid-paced and slower parts to create the right opening for the album, exciting the listener enough for what's to come. The songs don't go down the "one-simple-idea-explored-to-boredom" path. Most of them are plainly fast and direct. The music in this album has some minimalistic tones but it doesn't mean lack of ideas or creativity. Ipsissimus's riffs cut like a blade that used to be sharp but's grown rusty and thus more painful and dangerous.

There is only one short slow interlude, the intro to "Mistress of the Gloomy Nights" but it doesn't last long and soon it leads us to a tempestuous slab of mayhem at the speed of hatred. Again, variation is the key, it's not just endless, pointless blasting, but ferocious black metal that grabs your attention with its harsh, catchy melodies. The mixing, which is neither crystal clear to the point of being sterile (and consequently without that "dirty" sound that's necessary for any decent metal album) nor excessively muddy to the point of turning the instruments into an indecipherable blurr helps the listener fully comprehend the band's intention with every song.

The closing comes in the shape of "Z. O. E." (don't ask me what it stands for, there's no mention of it anywhere in the lyrics or liner notes at all). Much slower than the rest of the songs in the album, it reminds us of the first two albums, very depressive and doomy and it's followed by an "Outro", a collage of sounds of wind, crows, morbid sounding keyboards, some guitars and Nargothrond's eery voice reciting Satanic prayers, it sounds interesting enough after such relentless aural assault. The low tuning, the dissonant chords and the melancholic solos help set the overall depressive mood that leaves you one single message: there's no hope at all, only an eternity of cold torment ahead.

To sum it up: great production, stunning artwork (the quality of the printing, the paper, the disc itself are way above average) all serve to back up a great band, with talented musicians (not virtouses, mind you) and able to write great black metal, without compromise.

Best moments: "Black Hateful Melody" (this song kicks major ass!), "... and Evil Returns", "Hunters of Christian Souls" and "Z. O. E.".