Largely the bands rawest and coldest recording, 'Under the Sign of Hell' also saw the band being reduced to just three members, namely; Infernus (guitars/bass), Pest (vocals) and Grim (drums). This record showcases Infernus at one of the best moments of his career and throughout this thirty two minute recording he unleashes some of the most heaven smashing evil sounding riffs imaginable; fast, utterly fierce, chaotic and memorable all at once, curiously he even has a totally thrashy sounding riff in, 'The Rite Of Infernal Invocation' too. As well his compositions are simply top notch as far as true to the bone black metal goes.
After sharing vocal duties with Hat on, 'Antichrist' we get the full on Pest vocal onslaught here. Pest shrieks, screams, and grunts in a barbarous uncontrolled manner that's overflowing with hate and lunacy, yet it works so perfectly. He even howls out some cleanly sung parts in, 'Profetens Åpenbaring,' which technically sound awful, but within the frame work of black metal it actually sounds stunning as he makes the transitions directly into his shrieking voice afterward. Likewise, Grim's drumming is ferocious and violent in its execution, though hardly technical or really diverse its the production and mood that really makes it all work.
The production is very rehearsal and turbulent in character, perhaps the bands attempt to one up Darkthrone's, 'Transilvanian Hunger,' yet its not exactly the same style since all of the instruments are easily heard, the overall volume is perfect and above all else this album is great, whereas said Darkthrone record pretty much sucks. Naturally the record also has a very cold aura surrounding it, its one of those albums where it actually feels like the temperature is dropping as you journey through it. The music itself is generally quite fast and brutal, though there are plenty of mid-paced moments, as well as some slower parts, for example, 'Ødeleggelse og Undergang' & 'The Devil Is Calling' that are full of rich evil atmosphere. You can also find some ambient parts, such as in, 'Postludium' and in the ending of, 'The Rite Of Infernal Invocation.'
'Under the Sign of Hell' is one of those albums I originally purchased a decade or more ago, but at some point sold either when in need of money or having one of my moods where I was preferring something else. Thankfully I recently came across a used original pressing and it was quite exciting revisiting this one.
As I mentioned earlier the band re-recorded this album last year, with basically the same line-up too, except Grim of course, since he's dead. Take note of the fact that its nothing compared to this original either. So, make sure if you hunt the album down that you do get the original, I mention that specifically since the cover's are very similar. As for why? I don't know, but I do hope Infernus' pay day was sweet and he has lots of bling to show off now. Fucking wanker.
