God Seed – I Begin (2012)

Finally! After their crushing live performances in 2009, the band faded away with Gaahl’s retirement from the metal scene, but they are now back and stronger than ever. Presenting their debut full-length release titled “I Begin”, the era of God Seed finally begins. Moving past the whole Gorgoroth thing, King and Gaahl are ready to make a name for them and with a star studded cast they have crafted nine tracks that will surely puzzle some people, but that ultimately conquer the opposition.

With members of Dimmu Borgir (live), Djerv, and Thorns, this new band has managed to deliver an album that goes beyond Black Metal with some very interesting influences that one wouldn’t have expected from King and Gaahl. Opening with the relentless “Awake”, this is more of what one would expect since they sound like Gorgoroth circa “Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam”, the last release were King and Gaahl worked with said band. The track features excellent riffing and very commanding vocals all surrounded by punishing drums.

On “This From The Past” we get our first surprise with some very well placed keyboards that nicely add depth to this highly intense track. The band’s Black Metal sound has a bit of an old-school edge, and this is nicely enhanced by some more modern elements. Things start getting more interesting with the very trippy “Alt Liv”, which features some very funky melodic sections that are downright excellent.

The ritualistic “Hinstu Daga”, is probably one of the most unique tracks in this release thanks to its very catchy nature. The mystical combination of powerful riffs, psychedelic keyboards, and clean vocals make this song quite engaging and our favorite track of the release. Don’t get us wrong and think that God Seed has no power inside of them, tracks like “Aldrande Tre” and “Lit” deliver powerful riffing, a pounding bass guitar lines, and massive drumming while combining more interesting and diverse atmospheric elements.

As the album comes to a conclusion, our second favorite track “The Wound” combines some very effective old-school riffs with more of that psychedelic magic and delivers quite an effective track that is both powerful and chilling. Closing up the album we have an atmospheric/Industrial track that we quite didn’t like and feels a bit out of place, we would have just concluded the album with the previous track instead.

Deliver more than what meets the eyes, God Seed has managed to craft a fine release that puts them away from their old stereotypes and shows they have the chops to further their musical endeavors. With a heavy Black Metal core, the band experiments with more melodic and psychedelic elements that greatly enhance a solid musical foundation. For all the haters of King and Gaahl, make sure you listen to this release and give it its time, we are sure many people will be pleasantly surprised by “I Begin”.

Release: October 22nd, 2012

Genre: Black Metal

Country: Norway