Lord Belial "Enter The Moonlight Gate" Cassette

If there is a black metal band that deserves more attention than they deserve, it's Lord Belial. Based in Sweden, the band's debut album " Kiss the Goat" was praised for being a more darker interpretation of melodic black metal bands like Dissection, and having some killer riffs. However, while that album was great, it would be their 1997 second album "Enter the Moonlight Gate" where Lord Belial truly showed their full potential. To see what I mean, let's look at the instrumentals. The opening track "Enter the Moonlight Gate" throws us straight into the chaos with some raw guitars playing some cold and dark riffs, along with a powerful drum leading the track with its blastbeats and even a good bass play that adds in a thick foundation to it all. While this may give it a darker raw edge on paper, it's the production that makes it all work. The production is noticeably cleaner than that of the previous album, and it does give it that Dissection feel while also being more darker and mysterious in nature. While the first half of the album has some fantastic instrumentals, especially on "Unholy Spell of Lilith" and "Lamia". it's the second half of the track that really makes it all stand out, with the two stand-alone tracks being "Forlorn in Silence" and "Realm of a Thousand Burning Souls (Part I)". Forlorn in Silence mainly consists of an acoustic guitar that plays a soft calming riff with reverb, making the atmosphere relaxing along with the chilling vocals. Realm of a Thousand Burning Souls on the other hand is a long epic with some stellar riffs and powerful drumming that eventually concludes the album with ritualistic drumming and dark ambience. When it comes to the instrumentals, this album is one of the rare moments where its second half is stronger than its first half.
But this isn't even including the vocals, which make the instruments even stronger. Thomas Backelin's vocals on Kiss the Goat were good, but here, they're even better. In the track "Unholy Spell of Lilith" for instance, Thomas reflects on the chaotic atmosphere with his high-pitched shrieks. This sounds like the typical black metal vocals, but Thomas's creepy personality does add in more characteristics in the vocal delivery, so its haunting tone does reflect well on the instruments. The female vocalist Marielle Andersson is also just as strong, as her melodic singing works as a great contrast to the abrasive shrieking. The vocal performances of Thomas and Marielle are both fantastic, and are able to enhance the dark brutality of the instruments.
Even the lyrics are great. The songwriting on Lord Belial albums are usually good, but they're especially well-written on this album. Take the track "Path with Endless Horizons" for example, where this verse quotes:

Towards the towers black, to reach my kingdom
towards the towers black, to reach the realms of eternity
I’ve walked a thousand years in an everlasting night
on the path with endless horizons and eternal time.
the path with endless horizons, and eternal time!

This verse is about reaching a kingdom with a black tower for a thousand years. The description is simple, but elegant enough to paint a good picture of it all, and the darker tone of the setting does add in an eerie vibe to the journey. Furthermore, these instrumentals and vocals reflect well with the lyrics, as the raw and melancholic riffs further enhance the tragedy of the journey, as well as Thomas's shrieks making it all sound even more intense. The songwriting on this album is beautiful, and really does enforce this dark and slightly gothic style of the album well.
I'll admit that it was kind of hard finding the exact words to describe the album for this review, because it really is one of those albums that you have to hear for yourself. Its instruments mix Dissection-worship and dark black metal well, the vocals mix the shrieks and singing well, and the songwriting includes some of the best in Lord Belial's discography. While most of their other albums are good, none of them would be able to top the greatness that is "Enter the Moonlight Gate".

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