Glorior Belli: The Apostates

This album came out in April, so I am admittedly catching up with a release some of you have either heard or skipped weeks ago. Nevertheless, I wanted to listen to this album and write up a few thoughts about it. For those unfamiliar with Glorior Belli, they have been making music for several years and have a reputation for holding iconoclastic attitudes toward nearly everything. As the album title makes clear, these guys are apostates, taking a set of expectations and beliefs and willingly casting them aside. Black metal fans expect their music to go against convention, but Glorior Belli takes it further by resisting elements of black metal itself. They do this mostly by shifting into heavy rock and Southern sludge in unexpected ways. For die-hard black metal fans, this kind of experimentation comes off as either inconsistent or unnecessary. I didn’t mind some of it. “The Apostates� was an especially good track that balances the hard rock elements with black metal. I also liked the opening track “Sui Generis.� And then there are tracks like “Runaway Charley� and “Rebel Reveries� that have some good moments but also work really hard to resist expectations.

I think fans of Glorior Belli will enjoy this album. The band hasn’t lost their edge (or their attitude) but I think black metal fans will probably want to search elsewhere for the really dark stuff. Casual, but curious, fans may want to check out some of the early tracks on this one, but I don’t recommend the closing tracks because they roam too far afield. Ultimately, the band puts listeners in a strange position. Their iconoclasm gives them a license to experiment, but it also opens them up to charges of inconsistency. The good news is that the band has real talent and they write pretty good songs. The bad news is that we sometimes have to pick what Glorior Belli we actually like.

Track Listing:
1. Sui Generis
2. Deserters of Eden
3. The Apostates
4. Bedlam Bedamned
5. Hangin’ Crepe
6. Jerkwater Redemption
7. Split Tongues Won’t Atone
8. Runaway Charley
9. Rebel Reveries

Added: September 12th 2018
Reviewer: Carl Sederholm
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 1114
Language: english

[ Printer Friendly Page ]
[ Send to a Friend ]