Winter 1992; four men gather in a feast of alcohol, expressing their wish to create a black metal band. Fourteen years later this Swedish band is more than established and Lord Belial releases its eight full length album The Black Curse.

The Black Curse seems to have it all. Upbeat tempos with a tight double bass throughout the entire album, but fortunately they also left some space for the slower parts, for instance during the track 'Ascension of Lilith', which is my personal favourite. It’s evident the use of the keyboards has increased on this album compared to Revelation – The 7th Seal, but it’s not disturbing at all. As a matter of fact, the addition of more keyboards makes the album more melodic.

If you’re a sucker for varied, catchy riffs, I’m pretty sure you will love this album. Lord Belial keeps on amazing me with all the melodies they came up with; basically they capture your attention and won’t let you go until the track ends.

Unfortunately the downside about this album is that only the riffs make the biggest distinction between the tracks. It seems as if every song keeps on having those fast blast beats, which tend to make all the tracks sounds alike. The slower parts seem to take place at the same moment in every song, which makes the structure of the songs very obvious. But then again, if you’re in the mood of banging your head, this album is for you!