Norwegian Black Metal heroes Gorgoroth have almost a quarter-century history behind them already, and within this time they have managed to build up quite a reputation, both good and bad (unfortunately, mostly bad - check for yourself; the Internet is full of stories about the case of Gorgoroth). Nowadays Gorgoroth is run by the only member left from the original line-up, Infernus, and on the band's 10th studio album, Instinctus Bestialis, there is also has a longtime Obituary member, Frank Watkins (aka Bøddel, R.I.P.), on bass. This is actually a strong effort from Gorgoroth, making their own kind of Norwegian Black Metal that tries to avoid such tags as "kvlt" or "troo" as determinedly as possible. It even has a crystal-clear production, which could be the envy of many other metal bands.
Instinctus Bestialis is full of dark and melodic atmospheres that truly tend to get under one's skin, and it's a very unorthodox, diverse and out-of-the-norm sounding Black Metal album. There are even some true yet beautiful Heavy Metal solos placed here and there ("Burn in His Light" and "Rage" are both fine examples). With everything from severe, fast blasting moments to mid-paced, atmosphere-filled parts, you can actually find the whole palette of strongly executed ingredients on Instinctus Bestialis, which surely all make Mr. Watkins very proud in his afterlife. It's nice to see that Gorgoroth is still going strong, and is still one of the leading Norwegian Black Metal forces out there these days.
