Description

Formed in 1991, Besatt is one of Poland’s longest running black metal bands. Despite only one original member remaining, vocalist/bassist Beldaroh, the band’s sound has not changed much throughout the last two decades. Interestingly enough, Beldaroh started a side project with the other original members of Besatt called Det Gamle Besatt, but let’s not get too far off topic. Nine Sins was released in the summer of 2014 and is Besatts ninth full length album. Seemingly obsessed with the number nine at this point in their career, Nine Sins features nine tracks of the top notch black metal that Besatt is known for. According to the band, the number nine embodies more than just the physical number of full lengths they’ve produced, stating As nine demons of chaos, as nine circles of evil, as nine deadly sins. Besatt’s sound has historically been of the heavy handed and blasting variety, and Nine Sins is certainly no different. That being said, these guys really seem to have a knack for injecting unexpected melodies without taking anything away from the menacing and vitriolic nature of their sound, as displayed by the minor key passages on Hatred or the classically inspired soloing during Idolatry. Perhaps it’s because Besatt has been playing the same style for over twenty years, but the band seems to have struck quite the balance between pummelling hatred and haunting melodies. Where many bands tend to delve into experimental ventures, Besatt has stayed the course, continuing their embodiment of no frills Polish black metal. Don’t mistake the band’s penchant for minor keys for a lack of heaviness, as tracks like Homicide and Vengeance show Besatt at their most caustic, with a mix of militant riffs and trem picking alongside blasting, hyper-speed drumming. Nine Sins is a heavy handed album, yet the band keeps things interesting by consistently changing paces between blistering and mid-paced. Besatt’s sound calls to mind the finest of the Scandinavian scene but, with that Polish flair, their sound remains their own. This could probably be attributed to Beldaroh’s vocals, which are a strange and contorted, snarl that comes out between a shout and a growl, really not sounding like anyone else. Nine Sins carries Besatt’s tradition of blistering and fiery black metal, balancing with a dose of minor key melody in the right places. Fans of Marduk and Thunderbolt and the like will find more than enough to dig into. Obsessed with nines or not, Nine Sins delivers the goods and proves that Besatt is firmly planted among black metal’s elite. Being one of Poland’s longest running black metal bands (at least that still play black metal), Besatt certainly has had time to hone their sound. Nine Sins shows Besatt at their best; diverse, rich and blistering enough to melt the balls off a brass monkey.

Track listing:
1. First Sin: Sorcery
2. Second Sin: Homicide
3. Third Sin: Aggression
4. Fourth Sin: Apostasy
5. Fifth Sin: Vengeance
6. Sixth Sin: Wrath
7. Seventh Sin: Hatred
8. Eighth Sin: Blasphemy
9. Ninth Sin: Idolatry