GLORIOR BELLI - Meet Us At The Southern Sign CD

Glorior Belli did it again. After a little regression, in my opinion, with the previous “Manifesting The Raging Beast”, released two years after a stunning first full length as “Ô Laudate Dominvs”, their best release until 2009, the French band comes back with their best work in terms of quality, riffs, fury, anger, melody and a bit of bluesy influences in a few songs that fits perfectly the atmosphere of this masterpiece.

The return of the drummer Antares, who had recorded the first effort of the band and was lately substituted by the Italian M:A Fog, seems to have brought back something that was missing on “Manifesting The Raging Beast” and now completes what was left unfinished, hoping that his new departure from Glorior Belli will not cause negative effects.

The album starts with a hypnotizing sound that soon evolves into a furious and fast black metal, the sound of French black metal, that changes another time into a blues influenced black-hard rock melt with clean and screaming vocals fitting perfectly this special atmosphere, and finally has back an anticlimax. There’s no place for boredom or tiring moments full of nothing or silly ideas: every riff is thought to be the perfect melody to fit the entire song and to succeed the previous one.

“The Forbidden Words”,” Swamp That Shame”, “In Every Grief-Stricken Blues” and “Nox Illuminatio Mea” are perhaps my favourite tracks on this release.

GB can now be considered with no doubt as one of the best band from France along with masters such as Blut Aus Nord and Deathspell Omega: people who have no fear to experiment with other genres, although in a bigger way than them.