Review: GORGOROTH – “Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt”

Gorgoroth – Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt
released November 11, 2009 on Regain

Over the last few years, no band has suffered from as much internal strife as Gorgoroth. After the “firing” of vocalist Gaahl and bassist King ov Hell, two parties were essentially formed. One led by the aforementioned musicians, the other led by founder Infernus. Following a long, drawn out battle for who had the rights to the Gorgoroth name, Infernus finally won due to his longer usage. Now, they’re back, and certainly in great form.

Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt marks the return of former vocalist Pest, with Frank “Bøddel” Watkins (Obituary) and Tomas Asklund (Dark Funeral, Dissection) taking up bass and drum duties, respectively. This extreme shift in musicians has certainly resulted in a different sound. Everything just sounds scarier, with some haunting cleans appearing on track 8. Pest has a much more classic vocal style than Gaahl utilized. They have also decided to return to producing the album themselves, whereas their prior effort was helmed by a third party producer.

In some ways, the production sounds rushed, with transitions between and within songs being very choppy, cutting notes off in the midst of their resonance. Whether this was a conscious decision or a mistake, I don’t know, but it does take your head out of the music a bit. The recording is great, though, with everything sounding clear in the final mix. In fact, everything is great, other than the previously stated downside, which doesn’t even really have to do with the music. I highly recommend this album whether you like black metal or not.

FCC OK
Try 1, 3, 5, 7, 8

01. Aneuthanasia
02. Prayer
03. Rebirth
04. Building a Man
05. New Breed
06. Cleansing the Fire
07. Human Sacrifice
08. Satan-Prometheus
09. Introibo ad Alatare Satanas

Rating: