Swedish black metal band, LORD BELIAL, has been making music intermittently for the last 30 years. "Rapture" is their ninth full-length album and is their most accomplished to date. Their style of black metal is full of sinister melodies and Satan worship. On this album, they have incorporated just a hint of death metal, and that smattering has proven to be exactly what they were needing. Some metal fans might find the whole "Hail Satan" shtick trite or offensive. I, however, am not one of those fans. I mean, where would metal be without Satan?

While some songs on "Rapture" are better than others, there isn't a single bad or uninteresting track throughout the album's fifty-minute runtime. The first track that made a lasting impression on me is, "On a Throne of Souls." In this song, LORD BELIAL opted to forego the intro segment and hit the ground running. The tremolo picking stands out instantly and is masterfully executed. The next part, I'm a sucker for. I love it when all of the music stops for a split second and is welcomed back with a simple "ting" of the triangle. That element gets me pumped every time. Also, as if they read my mind, a chorus starts singing while Thomas Backelin dons his best creepy, deep voice for a spoken interlude before the song's conclusion.

The next song, "Rapture of Belial," is another highlight. The song starts off slowly, almost ritualistic, then Thomas Backelin's voice comes in. His raspy vocals ring clearly before the drums and tremolos set the tempo for the song proper. Backelin's sinister vocals return with another spoken part. Immediately afterward, the tempo ramps back up into peak black metal territory before Backelin trails off, saying, "Belial" several times while the song fades out.

Track five, "Belie All Gods" also gets off to a slow, deliberate start, opening with a clean guitar melody. This melody is complimented well by a singing chorus. Then, the synth comes to play, introducing the haunting spoken part. The creepy, evil-sounding vocals play a major role in this track, and I absolutely love it.

"Lux Luciferi," the seventh song also forgoes any semblance of introduction and kicks off with some blazing fast music in more of a blackened death metal tradition instead of strict, by-the-book, black metal. I was reminded of GOATWHORE upon first listen. This song alternates between fast and slow tempo parts held together by a catchy riff. At this track's midpoint, a clean guitar passage quickly morphs into a full-on black metal frenzy, capped off with an explosion sound effect. The aforementioned catchy riff is ever-present during the song's second half, this time with a little help from the keyboard to close the track out.

The next track, "Infinite Darkness and Death," is a great example of all of the previous elements on the album coming together as one. This one features fast tempo music, and two creepy voice passages, both delivered with the utmost ferocity.

Track nine, "Alpha and Omega" is the most melodic song on the album. It starts out with a clean, slow-picked guitar passage, played over blast beats. The vocals are also delivered slowly, punctuated with drums and guitars. One lyric near the song's end made me chuckle and wonder how Thomas Backelin could deliver, "I hold the keys... the keys of death," with a straight face.

Overall, "Rapture" is a fantastic black metal album with death metal leanings. I wasn't blown away by the first and final tracks, but there is zero filler and other listeners may find the two tracks just as exhilarating as I found the ones mentioned in this review. If you're a fan of extreme metal, you owe it to yourself to check out this album.