Old Legend Productions, 2013
Genre: Black Metal
1. Total Satanic Onslaught
2. Eradicate the Weak
3. Katakumby Diabła
4. Śmierć Obłudnych Mas
5. Zaplute Ścierwo Jahwe
6. Facing Eternal Damnation
It's taken quite a while, but we finally have a new release from the might Beleth. There have been some serious line-up changes over these past years. Asmenoth is the only remaining founding member... which is good since I believe it's really his main project. However, we pick-up with two new members that are no stranger to performing good Black Metal. Taking over vocal and bass duties is Eradicator from Naburus and Negathor, where he also plays with new drummer Strzygon. Strzygon really makes the intensity of this album stand out given how fast this guy can play. Eradicator is definitely a good replacement for the days of Aghor Norg, he doesn't sound just like him. But his vocal quality isn't the same as the standard Black Metal vocalist. He's got this under current rasp that really let's Beleth's style stand out more. At times he sounds a bit like Aldrahn from Dødheimsgard, which is absolutely nothing to complain about!
It seems Beleth doesn't produce the best material whenever they do splits and when it comes to engaging their discography the full-lengths are truly where this band shines. "Total Satanic Onslaught" absolutely lives up to its title. Not only is the music fast, vicious, and violent, it also has a sort of haunting quality to it. They return to using riffs that really draw the listener into their sound like we heard on "Nieuchronne Widmo Śmierci", but all of this is cast in an even faster and intense frame. While not the best album I've heard all year, Beleth is here to keep the violence in Black Metal and for that they are totally worth listening to. "Total Satanic Onslaught" is absolutely an album worth getting in my opinion and its some of the more vicious material you'll find around.
Again... if you like your Black Metal fast and violent, Beleth is what you are looking for. It seems they do best when there are long waits between releases, so we'll probably have to wait a while for the next release. Hopefully, it will be well worth the wait if they can keep giving us albums of this high quality. Enjoy the truly extreme!
Hell is Here Production, 2009
Genre: Black Metal
Beleth:
1. Dechristianity Through Atrocity
2. Zło W Myśli, Zło W Słowie, Zło W Czynie
Moontower:
3. Mist
4. War Passion
Wings of War:
5. Prepare for War (Intro)
6. Infernal Wings of War
7. The Sermon of Satan
Side Moontower: ...coming eventually...
Side Wings of War: ...coming eventually...
Side Beleth:
After a couple years of waiting Beleth finally return with some new vicious and intense material. This was actually the first time I've heard the mighty Beleth. I got this 3-way split because I was following Moontower's career for quite some time. While the music is pretty much what you would expect after hearing the magnificent "Nieuchronne Widmo Śmierci" the sad news is that Aghor Norg has left his vocal duties. So, now the vocals don't have that stand out edge they had before. Luckily they found a decent replacement. He doesn't sound as unique, but he's a solid screamer for a Black Metal band.
The two tracks Beleth submit to this split are just a fast blitzkrieg attack of Black Metal. They don't really have those catchier riffs this time around, but they are certainly better produced than the Thanathron split. If you thought these two tracks sounded very good then I highly recommend you check out the full-length "Nieuchronne Widmo Śmierci" because that will pleasantly surprise you very much. I'm just glad to see that Beleth have not lost their edge and in fact their music just seems to get more and more vicious as the years go on. If you want fast hateful Black Metal, Beleth is the band you are looking for!
Hail Satan 666 Productions, 2007
Genre: Black Metal
1. Destruction of Holiness
2. Zdrajcy - Zniszczeni Przez Plagę Czarnego Trucizny
3. Przeklęte Wiary Słowa
4. Niszcz Swe Życie Dla Szatana
5. The Great King of Hell
6. Rasa Satanistycznych Wojowników
7. Psalm Potępienia
8. Nieuchronne Widmo Śmierci
Now this is what I was expecting when I put in new Beleth material. Based on the last split I was sort of worried about the direction the band could be taking for future releases, but even though this came out the same hear as the split with Thanathron it sounds entirely different! "Nieuchronne Widmo Śmierci" is a wonderfully executed onslaught of violent Black Metal. This is really their debut album and it is certainly worth checking out. This CD is limited to 500 hand-numbered copies and I happen to own #491.
I feel like Beleth have finally hit their true sound and brought back their original vocalist, which is one of the things that made them stand out among the rest of the Black Metal bands. The music is written more like the early demos and this album is filled with hateful riffs that just tear you into this music. "Nieuchronne Widmo Śmierci", as you can guess from the album art, is a raw onslaught of Black Metal. They've definitely upped the ante in intensity form their demo days have a lot more blast beat sections in their music. This plays in well with their riffs though.
I think a lot of people might be a bit to swift in dismissing this as generic, but I think Beleth offers a lot more here than you can hear at first glance. Sure they're heavily rooted in the usual form of Black Metal, but their execution is so good that I can't help but get really into it. I really love the way this album is put together and you can feel their hate flow through every single second. Just remember "Beleth is at eternal war with judeo-christianity - smash this filthy way of life!!! Black Metal does not capture any prisoners of war!!!" So, if that kind of band appeals to you... this is everything you're looking for. I hope their music continues to be this strong.
Hell is Here Production, 2007
Genre: Black Metal
Beleth: Warlike Existence of Night
1. Brothers of Black Alliance
2. Might of Thelema
3. Millennium of Darkness
4. Awakening of the Forgotten Deities
5. Echoes of the Night Voice
6. Outro
7. Bonus: Live Under Blasphemous Banner Vol. II 20.11.2005
Thanathron: Nosferatu
8. Nosferatu - Part I
9. Nosferatu - Part II
10. The Dawn Will Never Come (Infernum Cover)
Side Thanathron: ...coming eventually...
Side Beleth:
Another year and we get some more Beleth material. Unfortunatley, it's mostly old material, but this time it is a re-release of their first demo "Warlike Existence of Night" originally released in 2003. I was never able to track down the original of this material, so the material is new to me. "Brothers of Black Alliance" has already been released again on a different recording. Once again the material is presented in the form of a split cassette, which I'm sure is limited, but no limitation is cited anywhere. It comes with a pro-printed booklet and dubbed tape though. The booklet is actually really nice multi-panel booklet with band photos and liner notes.
Even though "Brothers of Black Alliance" has been released before, I feel like this version is very different. I think a lot of this could have something to do with Venturis being a session vocalist giving the sound a very different feel. His vocals sound quite good with the project though, but I'm not sure they're better than how Beleth evolved with Argor Norg. As I sort of expected, the music isn't as strong as their later material. The Black Metal feels a lot more standard and the riffing just doesn't hook me in the same way as their second demo material did. In fact there wasn't much on here that was very memorable in the end. The Beleth side ends with a barely audible live recording... so a fairly lackluster release overall.
In the end I can see why Beleth never really went anywhere with this material, I don't think this more ultra standard style suits them very well. Luckily their future is much brighter, because this release was just somewhat tiresome at best.
Total War, 2006
Genre: Black Metal
Beleth:
1. Dusze Wyklętych
2. Dzikich Kapłanek Wielki Dzień
3. Awakening of Forgotten Deities
4. Groza w Postaci Nowego Boga
5. Ghoul (Mayhem Cover)
6. Przeklęte Wiary Słowa
Shining Abyss:
7. Intro
8. Soul of Blasphemy
9. Funeral Procession
10. Forgotten Soul
11. Eternal Flames
12. Outro
Shining Abyss: ...coming eventually...
Beleth:
This is Beleth's first live release and it comes in the form of a split. I think a lot of the motivation for the release was to re-release the long lost material from Shining Abyss, which was originally released in 1996. This tape comes on a pro-printed booklet with a dubbed tape and is limited to 200 hand-numbered copies. I own #3... which is one of the lowest numbers in all the numbered material I have!
Beleth give us a vicious and noisy set from 2006. Aside from the fact that there is entirely too much feedback between tracks, the recording is actually pretty solid. We can hear everything alright for the most part. Beleth's set is mainly comprised of the material you find on the splits with Wings of War and Nocturnal. I imagine this would have been a pretty intense set to partake of. If you're already a die-hard Beleth fan, then this tape is certainly worth getting.
Self Released, 2006
Genre: Black Metal
Beleth:
1. Dzikich Kapłanek Wielki Dzień (Sabat)
2. Dusze Wyklętych
3. Groza w Postaci Nowego Boga
4. Brothers of Black Alliance
5. Ghoul (Mayhem Cover)
Wings of War:
6. Intro
7. Ostatni Hymn
8.Tej Nocy Zabiję...
Side Wings of War: here
Side Beleth:
A fairly typical thing seems to be re-releasing your material as new splits. After just year of Beleth's split with Nocturnal they re-released all that material, but this time with Wings of War. One thing I do like here is that Beleth sweetened the deal a little bit and included the two tracks they submitted for the "Dead & Euronymous Tribute" compilation. So, not only do we get the prior split material, we get the other material as well. This comes a CDr copy with just a booklet, no jewel case. The booklet is professional printed, but it's only a jacket, there are no pages to flip through. The interior is a picture of the bands behind the split, which isn't too bad. Like the prior split this is limited to 150 copies, but there is no numbering this time around.
So the two tracks appearing from the compilation are pretty good. The "Ghoul" cover feels a little rough, but then again it is from the very first Mayhem demo. The new song they submitted "Brothers of Black Alliance" is a bit stronger than the older material, so it seems Beleth are still improving. Certainly nothing to complain about. The production quality seems to be a little better too, but still maintaining that raw style from the first split. With only two new tracks from Beleth there isn't much to say... Wings of War's new material is the real draw for this split it seems.
Hail Satan 666, 2005
Genre: Black Metal
Beleth:
1. Dzikich Kapłanek Wielki Dzień (Sabat)
2. Dusze Wyklętych
3. Groza w Postaci Nowego Boga
Nocturnal:
4. Open Christian Terror - Sodomize the Lambs of Christ
5. I Pass this World like a Funeral
6. Ripping Christian Carrion
Side Nocturnal: ...coming eventually...
Side Beleth:
I really give up on trying to find Beleth's first demo (apparently I didn't give up based on the review below), so I'm going to resort to just skipping to their first split with Nocturnal. If their debut is anything like the material on here, it's probably a fairly solid release. This comes as a cassette only with a pro-printed booklet and is limited to 150 hand-numbered copies. I have copy #30. The booklet is actually pretty well done and is double sided with pictures of the band, which is a nice touch. I feel like I get too man tapes with a single sided booklet these days.
Beleth's work on here is a blitzkrieg of violent and intense Black Metal. It's certainly nothing new, but I do like the violently anti-Christian Black Metal that some bands can still manage to generate. Cast in the raw production gives this split a different kind of edge to it than most of the modern hateful Black Metal bands. Even though they're not really adding anything new, I'm sort of a sucker for this style of Black Metal, because the riffs are simple, yet well crafted and I really appreciate that. It has a certain level of catchiness that really draws you into the music instantly. I think this simplicity gives their work a sort of early Black Metal feel and with their production it has a layer of genuine raw demo style that a lot of modern bands try to emulate, but never really master. The members of Beleth are no stranger to Black Metal, which is probably what gives this material a serious edge over other bands. Having accomplished musicians and writers can really set up that differentiation from day one.
If you like raw and intense Black Metal then Beleth is a band to watch. If you're looking for the next big thing in originality, this probably isn't it, but you do get some solidly well written material. Most of the time that's really all I ask for, because in some way I can at least enjoy the music. This is definitely a band I'll be paying attention to in the future.
Hail Satan 666 Productions, 2003
Genre: Black Metal
1. Brothers of Black Alliance
2. Might Thelema
3. Millennium of Darkness
4. Awakening Forgotten Deities
5. Echoes of the Night
6. Outro
I finally managed to track down the first Beleth release after reviewing their entire discography. This is definitely Do It Yourself CD-R type of thing, even though the label eventually turns more professional in its pressings later. This demo must have been one of its earlier releases. This entire layout looks like its from an inkjet printer printed on cardstock created with one of those "make your own" CD kits... I remember, its how I used to make CD's for my old crappy project too. Ah, the memories. This release is limited to 200 hand-numbered copies and I own #167.
Like my old crappy projects printed on CD-R in a similar fashion, Beleth's debut is no exception to that perception. This feels almost as amateur as things can get at times. Somehow they've managed to record drums in such a way that they sound incredibly thin. Usually in Black Metal we have thin guitars, but for Beleth they take things to the next level with super thin drum tone. The music is generally uninspired and trends more towards the mid-paced feel. Blast beats are few and far between, because they tend to be off time when they show up. In fact a lot of the music is not in time with each other. It sounds like the drummer tries to do some cool things, but is only okay at executing it. The vocals are rather boring as well, they tend to trend toward that sort of clipped spoken word version of Black Metal. Immortal does this style a lot and Beleth seem to be following in that footstep a little bit.
In the end I'm glad I did not hear this first and, instead, heard their other releases first. Beleth eventually turned into a pretty good band and it's kind of shocking hearing that this is how they started out. They were either very young on this release of very inexperienced musicians...or both. In the end... I can't imagine listening to this very much and will certainly be sticking with their later efforts.
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