• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

I really liked The Veil of Darkness a couple of years ago, so much so that I ended up hunting down the band's entire catalogue—well, at least the full-length albums. Traditio Satanae is in the same vein, so if you liked The Veil of Darkness, you'll like this as well. Gorgon are back with their brand of fast, heavy black metal draped in a dark, hateful, yet catchy atmosphere. Think of a mix of '90s Scandinavian blasting black metal and that of the French scene of some 20 years ago: You get all the pounding, punishing violent blasting of the former and the melodic, yet hate-filled and haunting sound of the latter. This album is "loud" and doesn't give the listener much time to catch their breath, pretty much just pounding away from song to song and destroying everything in its path. The vocals are black metal rasps and screeches that just scream "hate" and I find them very addictive. They're somewhat decipherable and there are even some singalong moments here and there, though that doesn't mean the vocals are watered down in any way: This is fucking hate, 100%. Basically, here Gorgon make the bands playing the aforementioned Scandinavian black metal their bitches. It's one thing to play it fast and heavy, but it's another to do it so well as Gorgon, with plenty of attitude, a knack for catchiness (seriously, at least 2-3 of these songs will get stuck in your head after the first listen and the rest will come later), and really just sheer talent for creating and playing music that pins you to the ground, runs you over and over, and makes you beg for more punishment with a big smile on your face. One of Osmose Productions' best signings in years.