Ok, some Black Metal bands really are a trial to your Ol' Big Daddy here to review. Even with internet at hand, to find information about some bands is a Hercules' work. And in the case of LORD OF PAGATHORN, a veteran Black Metal band from Finland, they really are hard to know, but even with this trial, "Nekros Philia" is a very good album, no doubt about it!

Making their music in the same vein of ancients bands from SWOBM like MAYHEM, DARK FUNERAL and old MARDUK, this trio uses a more harsh and raw way of doing their musical work. Nothing new at all in their mix of harsh vocals, brutal and raw guitar riffs and pretty simple and heavy rhythmic basis. But even this way, this harsh and morbid feeling is the earlier and very deep expression of Black Metal roots, so it has its place in the Metal word. We must never forget the past...

The production is harsh and dry, but with very good level of quality. The musical instruments are in pretty harsh tunes, as in the first years of SWOBM, remind a lot the same tunes used by MAYHEM on "The Mysteriis Dom Sathanas", but clear and more comprehensible. But sounding this way is what they're about, and the band hits the bull's-eye.

Their finest moments: the brutal and fast "Chapter I", the more climatic and rawer "Chapter II" (with very good guitar riffs and great vocals), the worked and a bit technical "Chapter IV", and the horror made music of "Chapter VII", with a slower tempo and abrasive guitars, along with very good work of bass and drums.

The band has more to show us than is seen on "Nekros Philia", so we hope they can come back as soon as possible with a better album. But don't get these words to the wrong side of the Force, because this one is pretty good.