It’s been three tumultuous years since GORGOROTH’s last album, and while line-up changes, label changes, and various altercations with the law have been known to break lesser bands, these setbacks seem to only fuel the misanthropic rage found on GORGOROTH‘s seventh offering, Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam. “Wound upon Wound” begins the audio assault with furious intensity. And the band maintains a relentless pace throughout most of the album with the ominous “Sign of an Open Eye” providing the only respite from the band’s pummeling barrage. “White Seed” quickly administers another punishing beating before arriving at a driving, droning yet altogether fiercely atmospheric riff that epitomizes the spirit of the album. The song then blasts off like a storm once again. The man responsible for all of this over-the-top percussive chaos? None other than longtime cohort/conspirator Frost of SATYRICON, 1349 and GEHENNA-fame. He has lent his considerable talents to Ad Majorem behind the kit, truly stepping up the intensity level on all fronts. So forget all the hype, infamy and controversy, Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam is a devastating aural onslaught from one of the few remaining true Norwegian black metal bands. (Candlelight Records)