After twelve years of complete silence, Paragon Belial returned with their new album Nosferathu Sathanis. This German black metal band kept us waiting long, but I must admit; it was worth the wait.

The first thing that amazes me about the album is the range of Andras’ voice. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought multiple vocalists had contributed to the album. Especially on the Hellhammer cover 'Horus /Aggressor' he proofs himself to be capable of more than the average black metal vocalist. He definitely has the old school filthy black metal sound going for him.

One song that stands out on the album is Goatspawn. Fast marching beats are followed by a more mid tempo speed and although the riffs Ralph produces are easy to listen to and not necessarily that challenging, they certainly keep you interested. The overall atmosphere of the track has something ominous, maybe even terrifying. Included in the track is a sample of a short interaction with a creature which comes across to me as demonic with its heart rending screams. Absolute horror, if you ask me! If you are an imaginative person, this song probably will make your flesh creep.

Another song worth mentioning is the dark Necromancer. This song starts blasting out of your speakers until at a certain point there’s a break and drummer Zahgurim marches you right onto the part where the acoustic guitar takes over. The track continues in a down tempo speed and ends almost in a civilized matter (for as far you can sincerely use that term in black metal), if only Andras hadn’t concluded the song with an evil laughter. Once again, the feel Paragon Belial creates turns your skin into ice. Well done!