Being hidden away in the unheralded Czech black metal scene, Inferno had escaped my attention up to this point despite having put out five well-recieved full-lengths, not to mention numerous splits and several live albums. Inferno’s brand of black metal doesn’t really offer anything that numerous other bands haven’t already done, but their latest album Black Devotion is still completely worth checking out.

The first thing to capture my attention about this record was its surprisingly excellent production. Black Devotion’s sound is crisp and explosive, accentuating the various instruments at all the right times. Of course, good production is useless unless the band is worth listening to, and Inferno’s drumming, guitar work and vocals are all stellar enough to make the production investment worthwhile. Adramelech’s vocal assault is uncompromisingly savage, drummer Sarapis blasts through the songs with ease, and the dual guitars weave a potent mixture of tremolo-picked chaos and moody arpeggiated riffing.

‘Holy Tears’ was a favorite for me, but honestly if you picked any random track on the album you wouldn’t really find one that didn’t have at least a couple cool riffs in it. Inferno are equally adept at playing blasting, chaotic metal or slower, melody-driven passages, and it’s obvious that they’ve been honing their craft for quite awhile. By now you should know whether you’re the type of person who will like this album or not; if you listen to bands like Marduk, Dark Funeral, 1349 or Watain then you pretty much know exactly what to expect from Black Devotion, and it should fit right in on your CD shelf.

» Buy Black Devotion from Amazon.com