Band:	Glorior Belli
Album:	Sundown (The Flock That Welcomes)
Style:	Black metal, Sludge metal
Release date:	May 2016

01. Lies-Strangled Skies
02. World So Spurious
03. Rebels In Disguise
04. Thrall Of Illusions
05. Sundown (The Flock That Welcomes)
06. Satanists Out Of Cosmic Jail
07. Upheaval In Chaos Waters
08. We Whose Glory Was Despised

Glorior Belli: purveyors of what can only be described, quite simply, as Southern fried black metal. Ever since their 2009 output Meet Us At The Southern sign, the band have been putting forth quite a peculiar sound, demonstrating a willingness to fuse black metal together with a bluesy, groovy Southern rock twist. 7 years and three albums later, Sundown sees the band returning to their roots in a sense, but also demonstrates that they've learned a few tricks from their Southern flirtations as well.

The previous album from Glorior Belli, 2013's Gators Rumble, Chaos Unfurls, was something of a watershed moment for these Frenchies, being the first real moment that their sound seemed to actually be more tilted more towards the Southern rock influences they had been playing around with than it was towards black metal. Perhaps surprisingly, then, the follow up that is Sundown sees the band going back to a sound far more titled towards black metal than its predecessors, perhaps to the largest degree since their widely-hailed Manifesting The Raging Beast album. This is evident right from the raging approach of opener "Lies - Strangled Skies," which makes clear that here Glorior Belli are, for the most part, back to tremolo riffs, a black metal guitar tone, and balls to the wall aggression.

The key part of that last sentence, of course, would be for the most part. For on Sundown, the groovy, crunchy, Southern fried sound from Glorior Belli's previous three albums is most definitely still present. The only difference is, it's not in the forefront as much. But this is not necessarily a bad thing, and in many ways the album benefits greatly from the fact that this influence is still there, but merely turned down a few notches. "Thrall Of Illusions" is perhaps the best example: just listen to how it starts off with those catchy as hell opening riffs, not too unlike some found on Gators Rumble, Chaos Unfurls, before descending back into black metal madness, albeit some very catchy, bouncy black metal madness. The trick here seems to lie in the production: the guitar on this album maintains a black metal guitar tone, while the bass is much more rumbly, sludgey, and groovy. This is a smart technique, because what it essentially means is that a black metal aesthetic is largely maintained throughout while at the same time not compromising the heavier, groovier edge that the band have acquired lately either.

If there's one thing that Sundown demonstrates, it's that Glorior Belli have largely gone back to their black metal foundations, but that they have also learned from their foolings around with Southern influences on their previous three albums to the degree that they can now make their black metal groovier, catchier, and more memorable than it ever was before. This is an album that plays both sides of the coin pretty damn well, and, even being tilted more towards the black metal, still packs a Southern punch sure to delight fans of albums like The Great Southern Darkness and Gators Rumble, Chaos Unfurls as well. The result of the band going "back to basics" while still retaining some of their nuances has spawned what could very well be the strongest Glorior Belli album in years, and maybe, just maybe, the best yet of their career.

You get two tracks for now. Full release in a week!