Sargeist - Let the Devil In (2010)

As one of the most brutal Black Metal assaults of 2010, today we have “Let the Devil In” by the all-mighty Sargeist. Hailing from Finland, this band has gathered cult following with their crushing releases since 1999. The band originally a solo project from Shatraug the mastermind of Horna and countless other bands feature Hoath Torog (on vocals) and Horns (on drums) from Behexen.

Opening with “Empire of Suffering”, Sargeist immediately takes the listener by the throat with a brutal assault of massive drumming, crushing guitar riffing and hellish vocals. Since track one of this album, the band makes you aware that you will crushed to pieces with the music on “Let the Devil In”. The band’s brand of traditional Black Metal is top notch and will surely please all the fans of bands like Gorgoroth, Horna, and such that base their sound on raw brutality mixed with melody and well structured songs.

Shatraug pounds away at his six-string guitar like nobody else in the Black Metal genre, and on “Let the Devil In”, creates the powerful riffs that are the driving force behind the release. As you can expect the guitar work is excellent and creates a very thick atmosphere of chaos and darkness around this release, similarly to Infernus work in Gorgoroth, the guitar is the main elements in creating the bands massive sound.

The vocal powers of Hoath Torog are top notch and bring that raw energy to the music, almost like singers of the caliber of Pest and such. While the vocals are somewhat linear, the variety in guitar work makes us forget about them in some spots. Shatraug also provides some interesting backing vocals in the album’s title track, bringing a bit of a different flavor to this song.

Tracks like “Sanguine Rituals” and “A Spell to Awaken the Temple” feature massive drumming and an overall chaotic atmosphere that is very nicely contrasted by the level of melody in those songs. This is exactly how we like our Black Metal to be, crushing and relentless but with enough melody that we can headbang to. Our favorite songs of this release include “Empire to Suffering”, “Nocturnal Revelation” and “Twilight Breath of Satan”, this last one reminds us of the latest Gorgoroth album very much.

In general terms, if you love your Black Metal to be raw and melodic, then “Let the Devil In” is an album that you should definitely buy. Sargeist might not release albums every year or so, but when they do, they completely obliterate the competition with their relentless aural assault of Black Metal.

Release: November 9th, 2010

Country: Finland