TANGORODRIM

Israel's TANGORODRIM prove that true black metal bands hail from all corners of the planet, wherever disdain for religion and a love of all things filthy and inebriated are warmly embraced. And I do mean filthy. The sound of "Justus Ex Fide Vivit" is raw and dirty as hell, which has nothing to do with an unprofessional recording or a sloppy mix. The six tracks presented here are ugly, dirty, and pulsating with the sounds of early MAYHEM.

Lest anyone get too excited about "Justus Ex Fide Vivit", let me qualify by stating that the album is better than average, but in no way original or jaw-dropping. As most would expect, this one is all about attitude. That songs such as "The Wolves are Also Coming…" and the title track move from slow plod to galloping rhythm in predictable fashion take nothing away from the fact TANGORODRIM play it like they feel it, and the thing stinks like a combination of alley vomit and decaying dog carcass. Fast blaster "Cold Flames of Death" comes with a punkish coating, while the clean strumming and Larenuf's primitive grunt vocals that close "Without Eyes and Anything Above" provides an eerie close to the proceedings. The standout tracks are certainly "When Heirs of the Horned Shamelessly Attack" and "No Light", the former a straight head thrashy slam and the latter an up-tempo, DARKTHRONE-ish galloper that switches to a plodding HELLHAMMER sound/tempo before taking off again, announced with a Tom G. Warrior "Ooh!" As for vocal patterns… Well, these are not so much patterns as sadistic grunts and shouts surrounded with instrumentation.

Pretension is nowhere to be found on "Justus Ex Fide Vivit", and that in itself is always a welcome change from the black metal pretenders that continue to crop up across the globe. TANGORODRIM will do the trick for those that appreciate the aural equivalent of booze breath and rank body order from their black metal. There are definitely better black metal albums out there, but "Justus Ex Fide Vivit" should still appeal to most fans of the genre and surely the completists. Just don't expect an album that will change the face of black metal.