It's pretty strange that this band has been around since 1993, and though I tried to check out their info on the internet, there's almost no information for them. It's like they have been in hell all  this time, just came out to greet me, and have me listen to their album. I'm pleasantly surprised with what I heard. If you as a listener are used to standard black metal, this one takes it up a notch. It's an album that's far more than standard. Its something that has been done with quality in mind, and just by the titles of the songs, this wasn't created in a rush with the usual clichés. It's something much more, and it's really worthy of analyzing.

"An Eagle upon My Shield (Veteris Vestigia Flammae)" starts like a march to war. It really reminded me of CIRITH GORGOR. Slow at the beginning, but then the fire begins and you begin to transcend. You feel as if you're actually in the middle of a battle, singing and marching. The shifts between mid-slow tempo and fast are almost undetectable, you just have a boom each time it happens, and its very, very good song to start things off with.

"Before Me (The Womb of Spite)" has an initial riff that sounds like DIMMU in the puritanical era, fast and furious, till the end. Here, you have all the energy that a black metal band can muster. "Carved in Disharmony (Void and Essence)" is the catchiest song for me, and sounds like this could have been done in the early 2000´s. The song is haunting, full of changes, and that semi-chorus try sounds amazing. "Severed and Reversed (Feudal Attitude)" is a bit strange in comparison.  The riff is completely different, not necessarily for a black metal song, but for what I have heard to this point. Its fast, but with something else, probably it's the absence of the previous pattern of tempo changes. Still, it sounds really good.

"Down Lower (Men and Ruins)", as the title implies, sounds slower at the beginning. I really thought that this song would have been like this throughout, but instead manage some good riffs and drumlines that are haunting.  It really takes you into your own personal hell in a way. I'm not going to analyze the remained of the songs, not because they're not worthy, rather, this album is an excellent and fresh charge of black metal. Instead, I'd like to let you listen yourselves without spoilers because this is probably one of the best black metal albums I have heard in the last 5 years.

I do have a critique, nit necessarily not a bad thing I guess, but the low sound of the vocals probably affected the perfection that this blasphemy has. They seem to bend along with the basslines too much, and sometimes get lost. A better mix of the vocals would give it more aggressiveness and an even better quality. I highly recommend this one. Its bound to become an instant favorite to any metalhead for sure.