From the symphonic opening of "Mourning Palace" through the furious "Spellbound" to the evil tones of "The Night Masquerade" there isn’t a dull moment to be had here. Nor is there anything that isn’t just redolent of evil and hate. This isn’t as far from happy-metal as you can get, but it’s close. The reason the lyrics for "Tormentor of Christian Souls" do not appear in the booklet is because Nuclear Blast refused to print them. (You can find them on the band's website, they aren’t really that bad, but back in ’97 I can see how they might have caused a stir.) There’s a hidden bonus track that also isn’t listed in the booklet, and no, I haven’t the foggiest idea what it means either. It’s a pretty standard DB track, nothing really special.
The CD cover and booklet are pretty cool, with nice art direction and lyrics (with the two aforementioned exceptions). The band pictures are extremely silly, with the snarling, face-painted bandmembers resembling KISS action figures from Mcfarlane toys.
I enjoy this album a lot; it’s heavy, catchy and evil as hell. It goes on a bit long, and some of the later songs lack identity, but it remains heavy and very well-produced throughout. For someone like me who has limited tastes in black metal, this is a good way to get a touch of Satan in the diet.