Year of release: 2018
Label: Nuclear War Now! Productions
Rating: 8,8 / 10
In July, the debut album of the Belgian duet which struck me with its demo ew months ago will be released. The group follows the traditions of primordial black metal, without any "in its own way", "rethinking", "in modern sound" and so on. In the music of MOENEN OF XEZBETH, there is absolutely nothing modern. It is frighteningly authentic. "Ancient Spells of Darkness ...", like the demo, walks by the road of early SAMAEL: slow doomy riffs, sinister synths, squeaky and youthful vocals. Completely analog sound, rough and physically palpable. n music, the influence of BATHORY intensified, and I must say that because of it the album did not make such a powerful impression on me as a demo. BATHORY-like rhytmics somehow does not suit the Belgians very well. One has only to compare the first 2/3 of the song "Oath of Malignancy" with the last part, slow and solemn, to feel it. In this case, I can state that for MOENEN OF XEZBETH "slower" means "better ".
Well, there is nothing more to say. "Ancient Spells of Darkness ..." is the case when you do not even need to pay attention to the quality of the songs, the technique of performance and so on. You can only admire the Belgian duo, creating what seems to be impossible today. I almost believe that these guys were closed in crypts in 1990, and in 2017 they got out and began to record what came in their heads during their imprisonment. It's awesome.
English (UK) 
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