Thanks for checking out my review of As the First Blood Fell by Infernal Angels!

The opening to track one basically set the tone of the album there and then: very avant-garde. Dissonant guitar chords, slow drums with quick fills, and out-of-the-ordinary guitar melodies woven over the top created, in my opinion, a very unique sound indeed.

I felt that this soundscape had quite a lot of interesting sections throughout pretty much every song on the album. As a fan of bands that stray away from what is considered the “norm” in black metal, Apotheosis - Manifest ov Black Light was most definitely my favourite track, featuring Omega / Darvaza. For me personally, this track hit the mark the best because it had so much progression. The length of the song probably helps, but honestly, each 1.5-minute segment is pretty much a whole new song in and of itself. There are some superb-sounding guitar chords that really ring out through everything, and the drumming on this track is nothing short of beastly. Mad respect to the drummer for maintaining such an intense tempo while still remaining crisp and well-rounded.

Adorned in Fire was definitely my runner-up track. Again, it starts off with a very cacophonous and unconventional introduction which, as the track unfolds, gives way to what I consider some of the beefiest, most headbang-worthy riffs on the album, if not the most. One last mention for this song is that I found the vocals to be delivered excellently, adding plenty of flavour and providing that much-needed push. On tracks that are riff-driven and essentially written to get you moving, having vocals that contribute to that same energy helps a mile.

Overall, I’m not surprised at all that I’ve just discovered a band for the first time that I’ll 100% be listening to and introducing to other people. When I go to review an IFP band, I usually go into the review pretty much knowing that I’ll enjoy what I hear. However, I will add that it’s genuinely a great feeling when I stumble upon “the one” every now and then: a band whose discography I end up rinsing for a few months, haha. Infernal Angels will now be that band, I reckon.

All in all, I found that this band shines brightest in the building of their tracks, especially the longer ones, such as As One with the Void, which features Adramelech / Inferno, and Apotheosis - Manifest ov Black Light.

I’d score this album an 8.5/10.