Benighted in Sodom - Reverse Baptism ...

Matron Thorn - the man behind Benighted In Sodom is one of the prolific musicians in the depressive black metal scene, this album 'Reverse Baptism' is his 10th full-length album in 4 years and then there is many splits and EP's also recorded in the last 4 years. Actually he records so often, it is almost impossible to keep up with what he is doing. Quantity usually means lack of quality but not in this case. The albums have always maintained a consistent quality and while some are better than others, this man has never released anything average. Also usually these one-man black doom projects are hurt by poor production values but yet again, the production on Benighted In Sodom has always been pretty good.

The latest album, 'Reverse Baptism' has no surprises, it carries on with the same sound and style as their other albums. The ethereal atmospheric approach that has become the bands trademark is here again, as is the lyrical themes of self-loathing and hatred. Musically it is still black metal mixed with ambient Doom but there is perhaps a bit more melody this time around. How the hardcore black-metallers will react to this will be interesting but those of you with a open-mind should find most of this album mesmerizing in a depressing kind of way. Benighted In Sodom is a little different from most in this genre of music, the almost soothing black metal at times sounds out-of-place with the ugly vocals but when it works, it is very hypnotic.

There is no real standout tracks on the album but there is also no overly weak tracks either. The two-part Ocean is a little hard to take though at a combined playing time of 24 minutes but apart from that, the album is an easy recording to get through. There is some ugly, menacing doom riffing with the odd serving of blast-beats which usually hurts the atmosphere more than anything else on the album. This is a band that will most likely stay obscure forever which is a shame but I can understand how most people wont hear the beauty in Matron Thorn's work. Of course black metal heads will say, it's too doomy and doom-heads will say it is too black metal but personally I find the style intriguing. 'Hybrid Parasite Evangelistica' for my money still remains this bands finest work as this album doesn't quite reach the standard set by that disc but it still blows away most other black/doom crossover acts.....7.5/10

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