RAGNAROK — Malediction (review)

RAGNAROK — Malediction album cover Album · 2012 · Black Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
Time Signature
Iron cross...

Genre: black metal

The most notorious black metal scene is probably the Norwegian one. I am not thinking in terms of the criminal acts it got associated with back in the 1990s, but in terms of the bands it spawned, ranging from the gritty and dirty raw black metal bands over the totally bleak ones and the avant-garde ones to the grandiose and symphonic ones.

Hailed as one of the most extreme black metal bands out there, Ragnarok has a history of regular line-up changes, but on their latest effort "Malediction", they deliver the goods. The music is intense and hateful, the way black metal should be. It is full of blastbeats and tremolo-picking, accompanied by harsh vocals. But at the same time, it is strangely melodic.

Several of the guitar figures are harmonic and inherently melodic. This stands in an interesting contrast to the harshness and aggressive nature that does dominate the music after all. But it also makes the album quite accessible in comparison to a lot of the other black metal releases that are out there. Another ingredient in the accessibility of the album is the production which, while not polished, is crisp and well-defined.

An album driven by aggression and hatefulness, but yet melodic and accessible, Ragnarok's "Malediction" is is recommended to both hardcore and casual black metal fans.
Share this review

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

The Goblin Sessions Heavy Metal
THEM
Buy this album from MMA partners
Tormenta De Arena Metalcore
VORAGO
Buy this album from MMA partners
Infinite Metalcore
FUTURE GHOST
Buy this album from MMA partners
Heretic Melodic Death Metal
SUNCINDER
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Harrowed TwentyTenVideo
HARROWED
Bosh66· 3 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us