Belphegor
Pestapokalypse VI

Violence, Hatred, and Perversion. Words that are constantly heard these days, or rather that people want to hear continuously, in a society that is increasingly heading towards an abyss of nothingness. Belphegor, on their sixth LP, aim to leave a profound mark on the Black Metal landscape, and they couldn't do it better than with their latest release, Pestapokalypse VI.

Lethal Violence, Hatred, and Perversion, both eternally fascinating, used by the Austrians who have changed little since their origins while never repeating themselves, never losing the original malice and genuineness: a consistent group that has always acted accordingly. It's true, their content is deeply Satanic and calls for the demolition of every Christian principle, but their music is an invitation to each of us to delve deeper into these things, it's an invitation to everyone, even the calmest and most reflective like myself, to indulge in a release of unprecedented cruelty, of unprecedented hatred.
Not against the Church, not against the institutions, but against anything that oppresses us, that claustrophobically encloses us within ourselves, and why not, against what often causes us suffering and misery. That Belphegor identifies this in Christianity and every figure related to this religion doesn't matter; everyone thinks in their own way, and sometimes such ideas are shared by different people. However, the album is a simple and clear message of inner violence or rather "introspective" violence. Experiencing it is a personal choice.

The songs ooze with speed, ferocity, pure rage; granted. But one mustn't stop at its pure essence, or at least not always. It's important to know when to alternate the moments, everyone needs to understand when to indulge and when to return to themselves, appreciating the slower and seemingly more thoughtful moments, and it's only then that Pestapokalypse VI will be understood in its hidden intricacies, in the almost unreachable recesses of this musical genre that is so immediate yet so complex in certain aspects.

The drums are a war machine that obliterates and devastates the terrain it encounters with stunning speed and precision, only to soon after make the listener aware of how it knows to halt at the right moment, when the song requires more slowness. The guitar riffs, hard and soft, form a perfect marriage with Helmuth's bass, charismatic vocalist and historical bassist of the band, and they sweep away everything, every thought. The atmospheres, on the other hand, present themselves as a mix of hot and cold periods, "Hell's Ambassador" and "Bluhsturm Erotika" are excellent examples of each. But there is also ample room for a decadent component, a reflection on the Self and what reality represents for mankind, and it's then that the true sense of the album is fully understood. Here appears the real Plague, and the world's boundary seems closer than one might think; the horizon narrows, and the stage light now illuminates only man and his mind.

Belphegor thus confronts those who will listen to "Pestapokalypse VI" with their primordial instincts, offering all their violence and hatred, stimulating one's interiority to emerge without forgetting that, deep down, this has been part of mankind since the dawn of time.