Bestial Summoning - The Dark War Has Begun

Bestial Summoning existed during the 1990s in the Netherlands, and boy, did they put out some fantastic black metal. I LOVE the vocals on this album, and for something that was probably recorded in someone's basement, the sound levels of the different instruments are quite well done. Unlike your Darkthrone or Mayhem which tended to be more atmosphere focused, Bestial Summoning are all ice-cold hatred and aggression. There's some tracks, like Unholy Prison, that area bit more "traditional" in terms of pacing, but they tend to be the weaker songs on the album. The downside to the "ARGHFUCKKILLSATAAANN" approach is that there's not a whole lot of room for variation, and the much of the album blurs together. Now for someone people, that may not be a downside at all -- just be forewarned that this album is not particularly sensitive to atmosphere.

The Dark War Has Begun is a super raw, super fast, supremely evil-sounding record and is highly recommended for any fan of raw black metal. If you're into modern war metal acts like Conqueror and Revenge, you'll probably enjoy this.

ARTIST: BESTIAL SUMMONING

ALBUM: THE DARK WAR HAS BEGUN

GENRE: BLACK METAL

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