'coven, or, evil ways instead of love' the 2016 album by polish black metal horde cultes des ghoules has five songs and clocks in at one hour and thirty-eight minutes.  to refer to this record as epic is no cheap use of hyperbole.  the songs average at about twenty minutes each.  the band does not just pummel the listener with repetition, as is common practice in black metallic devil worship.  the songs are dynamic, featuring constant change ups.  the bass is particularly prominant, and there are even occasional drum and bass breaks, a feature that feels more punk rock than it does black metal.  this music is raw.  the production feels like it is going for as close to a live sound as possible.  the effect this has is to make the listener feel as though he is in the room with this evil coven of sadistic satanic musicians, witnessing their blasphemy in real time.  the singer of this group, known as 'mark of the devil' (is his god-given name mark, one wonders... because that would be pretty clever...), to me, this guy has every bit as much character and originality as ozzy osbourne brought to the genre of metal some fourty-five years ago.  mark of the devil cackles, croons, chants, grunts, growls, screams, whipsers and sermonizes with extreme gusto.  i can safely say this man is my favorite active vocalist in metal right now.  he does his job with a depth and thoroughness the likes of which i haven't seen equaled among other hordes of blasphemers.  this man truly sounds like a evangelist for satan preaching from an altar top adorned with a prostrate virgin oozong blood from every pore.  highly recommended devilry.  

_alibi