Band:	Sargeist
Album:	Let The Devil In
Style:	Black metal
Release date:	November 09, 2010
A review by:	Troy Killjoy

01. Empire Of Suffering
02. A Spell To Awaken The Temple
03. From The Black Coffin Lair
04. Burning Voice Of Adoration
05. Nocturnal Revelation
06. Discovering The Enshrouded Eye
07. Let The Devil In
08. Sanguine Rituals
09. Twilight Breath Of Satan
10. As Darkness Tears The World Apart

Black metal
Finland
Moribund Records

Line-up on the CD:
Hoath Torog - vocals
Shatraug - guitar
Vainaja - bass
Horns - drums


Refreshing no-frills black metal isn't dead!

Sargeist, best known for their contribution to the scene with the almighty Satanic Black Devotion, have re-claimed the throne as one of Finland's most prominent unadulterated black metal acts. Horna and Behexen references immediately spring to mind, and that is of course due to the fact they share so many musicians that we might as well combine all three bands and have them release multiple albums a year.

With as much hate and despair as your average Transilvanian Hunger, Sargeist have conjured up quite the emotional assault on the metal community. Laden with melody that nary borders on cheesy, Let The Devil In is a spiked club to the crotch of black metal as a whole. Even the aforementioned heavyweight Fins - and we might as well throw in some other class acts like Satanic Warmaster and Wyrd - can learn something from this album. It isn't a revelation of any kind mind you, but the feel of the music is just right: not too grim, not too hollow. It's blasphemous, it's melodic, it's edgy. What more could you ask for?

The drum work really stands out on this one as well. In most cases, black metal albums are just a blast-beat competition among drummers, but Horns makes sure to abuse his cymbals and ease up on the blasts - so that when he does use them, they don't fade like background noise. At times it seems he's kind of doing his own thing too. He doesn't spend time worrying about where the other musicians are, what point in the song it is, or even what planet anyone else is on. He just does his thing how he wants and it fits in perfectly somehow with what Shatraug and Vainaja are doing.

Mind you, it isn't just Horns - it's the entire band. Sure there are moments that feel calculated and the flow from one song to the next is undeniably thought out, but for the most part Let The Devil In feels like some (un)holy version of a jam session that was secretly recorded behind the scenes and released without the band's knowledge by some crazed naked kvlt kiddie running around wearing a goat head for a mask pulling a wagon full of recording equipment behind him.

And there you have it: well-executed black metal stripped down to its original form - before female guest vocalists, before symphonic elements, just something for the fans. Its playback value decreases with repeated listens, but once you return from a brief vacation, you'll definitely let the devil in.