Hellenic black metal formation Lucifers Child have just released their second full length on Agonia Records. ‘The Order’ heavily leans on the influences of its big brothers in the genre: Watain, Marduk and Rotting Christ (with whom the band shares a guitarist). Does ‘The Order’ stand on its own, or will it be crushed by the giants it is inspired by?
The album consists of eight blazing fast black metal tracks, alternating aggression with an impressive capability of writing catchy songs. Almost every track has an element that will stick by the listening, whether that is shouting along ‘INVITCUS!’ to the title track or, the catchy rock ‘n roll influences on “Fall of the Rebel Angels”. It’s clear that the songs are written to appeal to a large crowd within this niche of metal, and as you can only expect with such a band name, Lucifers Child is capable of seducing audiences with these tunes.
A moment is needed to appreciate “Through Fire we Burn”. With a slow build up, the song has a more epic vibe and at times (during the intro) one might drift off to Asa Bay. Mainly the guitar melodies make this track stand out from the others, as they carry it to the next level, opposed to the straightforward, in your-face-tunes you will have heard so far.
The first half of the record appears to be more powerful and it almost seems that after “Through Fire we Burn”, all the available amount of hooks has been used up. “El Dragón,” somehow sounds like a slight varation of the other songs. “Haraya” doesn’t light up as hell’s fires and the chorus is at times cheesy. “Black Heart,” on the other hand, is skillfully made to feel like a twisted, overwhelmingly dark satanic mass, as the music is purposefully slowed in a way that makes the hairs stand from your neck.
In all honesty, it is often hard to hard to dissasociate this band’s sound with the aforementioned acts. Still, I would rather describe Lucifers Child is an algamation of what is currently reigning in (popular) black metal. If they find the door to a wider audience and keep exploring their sound further, they just might find themselves fitted between those giants. The potential is there and ‘The Order’ is to say the least very enjoyable.
Rating: 7/10
Label: Agonia Records
Release date: Nov 9, 2018
Tracklist:
1. Viva Morte
2. The Order
3. Fall of the Rebel Angels
4. Through Fire we Burn
5. El Dragón
6. Black Heart
7. Haraya
8. Siste Farvel