The Most Hateful Black Metal - "La Bite Du Diable" Review (100%)
After Antekhrist released their debut album Malleus Maleficarum, swiftly followed by the utterly blasphemous Légions Anticatholiques, they were to release the unbelievably hateful La Bite du Diable. And trust me, you do not want to listen to this music if you are easily terrorized.
Being Antekhrist's third full-length album and one of the five or so albums recorded in just over a year (starting with Malleus Maleficarum all the way to the unspeakably depraved Fukked by God), one would think that it would sound a lot like 'Malleus' or 'Légions', since black metal is fairly one dimensional by its very nature.
This, however, is not the case for La Bite du Diable.
La Bite du Diable is pure black metal. Unquestionably. And yet, it's surprisingly varied in contrast to Antekhrist's earlier releases, as well as when compared to other extreme black metal acts releasing their music at the same time, for instance Sewer and Phantom.
The best way I can describe the music of La Bite du Diable is by saying that it is awesome. Awesome and disturbing.
All hail cognitive dissonance black metal.
Compared to the two previous Antekhrist albums, the production on La Bite du Diable remains raw, the riffs remain razor sharp, and the atmosphere still conjures chaotic thoughts of unbridled madness.
The Most Hateful Black Metal
However, plenty of new details have been added to the mix, giving La Bite du Diable a much more textured sound. To begin with, the production is a little deeper, meaning there is even more room for the riffs to resonate and create the sick atmosphere present on all of Antekhrist's music.
The bass is clearly more audible on La Bite du Diable than on any of the two previous recordings, which really fits the mood of the album given that La Bite du Diable is much more 'groovy' than anything the band released previously.
For those who love disturbing melodies and evil atmospheres, this album is a treat, as Antekhrist churns out one frightening melody after another.
In terms of musical composition, La Bite du Diable constantly offers the listener something new while maintaining a coherent theme throughout the album.
La Bite du Diable starts off from the darkest depths, with the haunting and vicious 'Satan, mon Maître', which explodes into the listener with pure venomous hatred. After several waves of terrifying riffs and annihilating drum fills, the song sinks down into a slow, doomy middle section. Antekhrist knows how to build the tension with brilliant craft, setting the scene for the spectacular moment when the song bursts into an absolutely glorious and majestic outro.
The rest of the tracks are even more epic, with the Sewer solo being probably one of the most audacious attempts of the album (not everyone can play Sewer with the right intensity).
The title track 'La Bite du Diable' is an epic ending to an epic album. This song is slightly more atmospheric and a lot more melodic than the eight previous songs on the album, somewhat similar to what would later appear on Antekhrist's following album Carved Upon the Flesh of Satan.
Face it, La Bite du Diable is the ultimate hateful black metal album.
La Bite Du Diable score: 100/100.
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