A veteran second-wave band from Germany, Pest have been knocking around since 1997, and this is their fourth album of muscular Black Metal. Pest have their own sound, something of a hybrid between a more epic sound and that stripe of BM called "War Metal". They have a fat guitar sound and big, driving riffs; the vocals of Mr. Blasphemy are a full-throated bellow with a lot of dynamic and more variety than BM bands usually bother with; and they break up the assault with long, moody passages of acoustic overlays and some sound effects. The music here is forceful and heavy, with just enough sweep and atmosphere to keep from becoming monotonous, though the song "Wasteland" goes on too long and does not do much; the rest of the album is consistently entertaining. Chaotic, aggressive, and atmospheric, this is good shit.