Under the abysmal blackened sky, there is something running through a path of weathered leaves. It approaches an abandoned church and suddenly the bells begin to chime, after seven times, as if it was the "Black Sabbath" song, the chords began to binge their secrets. I am not writing this for a horror story, this is my perceived crux of the new SECRETS OF THE MOON album, "Seven Bells", released via Prophecy Productions. There is something graceful and majestic in the darkness that has the tendency to draw a being into its wretched clutches. With the right music as a guide, it can be an interesting journey. As far as SECRETS OF THR MOON are concerned, which isn't new at this, this release isn't their best work of wonders, yet it's a different form of Black Metal.

I believe that "Seven Bells" is more or less on the same line as their previous album. Once again the owls chose to compose a number of epics to convey their black magic to the world along with their fears, pains, desperation, you name it. As the "Seven Bells" track began hovering on the top of my head, it felt somewhat similar at first to the feeling I had while listening to the intro of JUDAS PRIEST's "Burn In Hell" as a teenager, yet soon after the true face of SECRETS OF THE MOON became evident and the march began. That chilling feel of the cold octave riffing, which are so evident in Black Metal, have been savaged by blistering trill riffing frenzy and howling solos all throughout the album, but with a measure of taste of course.

Furthermore, I think that "Seven Bells" reflects a little more sense of straightforwardness than the atmospheric nature of the band's music. There were still plenty of slow tempo proceedings, yet it felt fairly aggressive. Moreover, I think that SECRETS OF THE MOON manifested two great hymns in the image of "Seven Bells" and "Serpent Messiah", two rather heavily aggressive slashers that really made a difference, while the nearly thirteen minutes of "The Three Beggers", which is a story that I would really like to hear more about, explored the fine regions of Black Metal in a single endeavor. In addition, there is the fine production, which wasn't too raw but still not polished and clean, that served this album well while providing it with the right inputs it needed for savoring the spirit.

If you haven't known SECRETS OF THE MOON until this instant, I must imply that it's not your regular form of Norwegian Black Metal. It shares aggressiveness, atmosphere and a creative mind of both music and lyrics. On its own "Seven Bells" has its peak moments and in overall it's a good album. However, when comparing this one to the albums of the band's discography, it's not the best of them. Still, there is a lot to find out here. Check it.