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Polish black metallers Blasphemy Rites can be likened to Blasphemy, Hellhammer, and similar bands from that camp of furious, sometimes mid-paced, sometimes thrashing or even deathened, and entirely unapologetic underground bands. With songs like the straightforward "Beergoat of Sodomy" and the energetic "Alcoholic Sabbath," their intent is clearly not "high art," but a castration of pretense and worship of filth. Fantastic bass presence and simplistic but rollicking guitar playing combines with loose drumming and a convincingly spiteful black metal rasp to form one standout descendent of the aforementioned bands' lineage.

The songs are short and sour, anthemic heresy throughout, and are smartly composed with equal respect to the more traditional middle tempo direction and a faster, near-death metal or even grind approach.

The album ends with three covers, the first an alright homage to Blasphemy's "Empty Chalice," though it doesn't have the same grit or bite as the original; the second, a competent rendition of Sabbat's "Satan Bless You," where Blasphemy Rites display a more technical side to their frenzied assault. Hideous Lord is bookended with an updated version of Celtic Frost's "Dethroned Emperor," which lacks something in the translation, probably due in part to a more "modern" production (I hesitate to call it clean, but it's definitely not as raw as it could have been).

Thumbs up to the original material, and the covers don't hurt anything.