Lord Belial are like all others in the goat herd of occult/anti Christian/Satanic black metal artists (minus the corpse paint makeup), incorporating traits of death and doom metals with a touch of orchestration (heard on the track “Sworn”) at times to their arrangements. They remind me of Emperor and Dissection.

The band formed in 1992 and released their debut album “Kiss the Goat” in 1994, placing them among the pioneers of Swedish Black Metal. “The Black Curse” is their eighth studio release that stays true to the black metal formula, yet, incorporating more melody than before on a track like “Trumpets of Doom” which also includes highly Dimmu Borgir influenced (“Enthrone Darkness Triumphant”) toned accenting keys. With of course an evil voice leading the black mass, Lord Belial assault the listener with both blasting rhythms and excellent melodic lead guitar work on “Unorthodox Catharsis” for really something different for this type of style and sound. Sonically, Belial’s decision to incorporate more melodic lead work than others makes the band somewhat unique. “Ascension of Lilith” utilizes the usual rapid fire black metal riffing but delivered at a mid pace tempo. Lord Belial are not the fastest of black metallers, paying more attention to structure and production than many. Its something of a welcomed change within the genre. “Devilish Enlightenment” destroys the holy alter instantly with machine gun riffing and continues to decimate with a dose of tempo variety and riff pattern.

Lord Belial have crafted an album which boldly embraces its title, accompanying dark artwork (with its glowing pentagram and hooded fiends) and sonic presentation.