GORGOROTH... Ah, a strange and kind of funny story I have to admit. Many things happened in the band's camp the last years and I really don't know what was the cost of all this. Did the Norwegian metallers earn new fans? Did they lose many of their old fans? The band split in half, then it was the trial regarding who would keep the band's name and logo, then it was the shock that Gaahl is gay and is dating a really young fashion designer. I have kind of stopped caring about the ideology behind a band anymore, simply because such a thing does not exist nowadays, except for some few exceptions coming mostly from the underground.

The only thing that matters to me is if the legendary Norwegian blacksters have managed to create an album equal to their name and history. Even though I was a fan of Gaahl's hellish vocals, I was pleased by the fact that GORGOROTH chose Pest as his replacement, the man that still haunts my nightmares with his incredible performance in Under The Sign Of Hell. This was not the only change, since the band (its leader Infernus to be more precise) found a new drummer, Tomas Asklund (DARK FUNERAL, DISSECTION and a new guitarist, Tormentor (GAAHLSKAGG, ORCUSTUS). The surprise was in the bass player position, when the band announced OBITUARY's Frank Watkins (nickname Boddel), a musician I personally adore, but I still haven't understood what the fuck he is doing in GORGOROTH.

Anyway, let's forget about everything that happened, the line up changes, the fights, everything, and let's just focus on the band's latest offering Quantos Possunt Ad Satanitatem Trahunt. Oh, I almost forgot to say that even though Tormentor was part of the band during the album's recordings, but all guitars have been played by Infernus

So, are GORGOROTH still able to send shivers down your spine with their uncompromising music? After almost melting the CD from the countless listening sessions I can reassure you that they can still do it! Even though the whole band changed, the result is the same and GORGOROTH seem stronger than ever! Do you know why? Because Infernus was always the mastermind behind this band.

Infernus with his wicked riffs, his haunting melodies and epic passages. Recruiting Pest was also a great move, since despite the fact he has a great voice, he is also an old friend of the band and he probably didn't even need time to adapt. Aklund's great skills are known to us through his works with DARK FUNERAL and DISSECTION, and he really knows when to unleash his bestial fury, give some extra groove or just complete the already epic atmosphere. By the whole sound of the rhythm section, I can also say that he has already found a good ally in the face of Frank Watkins. And believe me, with the variety of sounds Quantos Possunt Ad Satanitatem Trahunt features, the rhythm section is a huge weapon that proves to be deadly! The band follows the path it is on, by relying mostly on mid tempo melodies and heavy sounds that may some times remind you of the Swedish scene. Some say GORGOROTH changed, some say they are much better, and some say they are much worse. I just say they have evolved...

If you add the damn fine production to all of the above, a production that keeps the filthy Black Metal feeling while adding a heavy and as clean as it should be sound, then you definitely have a great album that will please many Black Metal fans. I don't know for the most demanding ones, but I know that many of them will listen to the album even secretly at their houses, hiding from their true Black Metal friends.