I have actually seen some reviewers (who shall remain nameless as well as tasteless) have the nerve to call this Black Metal. Bwahahahaha. Okay, this is not BM at all, this is the third CD from a band that seem destined for both success and utter mediocrity. Allow me to explain.
Stormlord play speedy, keyboard infested Melodic Death Metal a la Children Of Bodom with a bit of late period Dimmu thrown in. They play fast and bombastic (their drummer is very good) and have a lot of orchestral parts. Stormlord seem to be doing a pretty good job of remembering they are a metal band, and they do let the guitars stay upfront and have actual good guitar riffs throughout, so they haven't fallen completely into the 'symphonic' bandwagon. When I say they seem destined for success, I mean that they have elbowed their way into the wings of a style that is pretty successful right now, and likely to get moreso. But the mediocrity comes in when you realize that despite the fact that "The Gorgon Cult" is pretty entertaining, there is absolutely nothing about this album that fans of the style have not heard a hundred times before. Stormlord know what they are doing, and they do it well, but there is an unavoidable 'been-there-done-that' feel to the album that is inarguable – it is simply there.
The artwork and design of the booklet are very good, and the band's performances are spot-on with the exception of the raspy yapping of 'vocalist' Christiano Borchi, who really, really sucks. He makes Laiho sound good by comparison. Ouch, but there it is. The production is first-rate, and the band sounds tight, together, and heavy. The lyrics are not great, but you can't understand a word of it anyway. I suppose I could sum up my feelings about this album by saying that I've had it for six months or so, but forgot about it completely until now. That's just the kind of album this is: good while it's on, but almost totally unmemorable.