GLORIOR BELLI hail from France and this is their third full-length album named Meet Us At The Southern Sign. It's a two-man project, consisted by Alastor and Infestvvs , formed in late 2002 and have received quite a few positive reviews since then. Their sole purpose is to prove that France has more sinister products to export besides dairy and alcohol.
I have to admit that I was a bit puzzled the first time I listened to the album. If you've read some of my earlier reviews, you might have noticed I'm not that happy about this new trend of mixing black metal with other genres, usually unsuccessfully. I'm glad to say that after paying some more attention to the details, I actually like the subtle elements of southern sounds with doom and of course, traditional but never cliche Black Metal.
Just listen to the intro and the following main riff from There Is But One Light that would make Zakk Wylde jealous for not coming up with it for a BLS album and observe how well this works with grunting and the mid-song switch to more traditional Black Metal sound. Same goes for In Every Grief-Stricken Blues with the blues-y sound and the clean vocals at the beginning.
All 50 minutes of this little gem are interesting and never lose pace, even if it's far from a never-ending assault of blastbeats. Growls, guitar work and programming are excellent, I really liked how there wasn't some basic pattern that many bands like to follow and build their album on it. The production is very good and it does great justice to the album, allowing the bleak atmosphere that GLORIOR BELLI try to convey, to reach the listener at full force.
It's a very interesting album that becomes even better with each listening session; this is a rare quality and if you are willing to keep an open mind I am convinced you are going to like it a lot. Definitely worth giving it a shot.