Arising like a triumphant beast out of the raging abyss of Hell itself, Black Witchery's album "Desecration of the Holy Kingdom" is an inferno of blasphemous agony that is far too powerful for the sheeplike followers of the "new" or "revolutionary" black metal. Fans of the "Cradle of Filth" style trendy metal can forget about Black Witchery, for they shall never be worthy of it. "Desecration of the Holy Kingdom" is a writhing display of hatered and sheer agony, both lyrically, and instrumentally, as it beckons to none but the truest black metal followers.

Complete destruction of all things sacred is the crusade of this album, which is nothing new as far as black metal goes. The thunderoar bass and barbaric vocals of Impureth magnify its intensity, while untamed guitars from Tregenda compliments this. Few solos, and no sorrowful riffs are heard throughout the album, but only an agonizing construction of insanity laced with Vaz's drum pummeling, simply adds to the onslaught.

With the eroding away of the "old" style black metal bands in europe, bands such as Black Witchery in the U.S. have been bequeathed the flaming torch of metal to keep the "true" scene from dying out. "Desecration of the Holy Kingdom" takes the black hearted views and instrumental ferocity of the late 80's and early 90's, and modernizes it with a more powerful sound and better production, yet keeping the raw emotion of the black metal underground.

-by Ryan Ward