UNHUMAN DISEASE — Into Satan's Kingdom (review)

UNHUMAN DISEASE — Into Satan's Kingdom album cover Album · 2009 · Black Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
Vehemency
Doom bells reverberate in the nocturnal cemetery where demonic rituals are held. Such is the introduction track to Into Satan’s Kingdom, Unhuman Disease’s fourth full-length - that is actually recorded in 2007 already, before the last year’s Black Creations of Satan - reeking of darkness, death, and, ultimately, Satan worship in the general old school spirit, mixing menacing sounds with a touch of melancholy every now and then, hence reminding me of many Finnish acts. The booklet says thanks to a few bands from the aforementioned country, so I don’t think I’m terribly wrong about this.

The first actual song ”Diabolic Devotion” works already as a blueprint for the rest of the album with its Sargeist esque gloomy atmosphere, drums battering mid-tempo beats, guitars weeping sadness and devilish intention via tremolo, and high-pitched screams proclaiming the same overall atmosphere, just verbally. Sometimes the album ventures to slightly more in-your-face blastbeat moments and at times - prominently, in fact - the approach leans on melancholy - a song like ”Howls of Sorrow” being an ultimate example of this dirge-like style, very reminiscent of e.g. Noenum.

There’s some imbalance between the productions of tracks, resulting in fairly different sound levels between some songs - this is probably because the album was recorded in the span of five months. Luckily the shifting sound levels aren’t too harassing and, actually, hardly noticeable when one becomes absorbed in the music. Speaking of the production, you may already guess that nothing clean and polished is to be expected - this is truly rehearsal-quality, crackly and raw material, but all the necessary is audible.

I remember hearing Unhuman Disease’s first effort earlier this year and can only be happy that the music has clearly evolved from that: while Evil Reigns Supreme was a somewhat loose attempt at Darkthrone esque black metal, Into Satan’s Kingdom is clearly a stronger whole with interesting ideas, yet still retaining a simple approach to old school devil worshipping black metal. The lead melodies towards the end of ”Calling of Satan” are an example of this evolution into a more thoughtful songwriting. I can’t say that Into Satan’s Kingdom is objectively a groundbreaking record - certainly not - but in its category it is a noteworthy album, something that I’m proud to have in my shelves next to the originators of the style, and put it every now and then into the player and enjoy the morbid, raw black metal done with authentic Satanic devotion.
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