Band:	Novae Militiae
Album:	Gash'khalah
Style:	Black metal
Release date:	July 01, 2017
Guest review by:	LuciferOfGayness

01. The Chasm Of The Cross
02. Daemon Est Deus Inversus
03. Orders Of The Most-High
04. Koakh Harsani
05. Annunciation
06. Black Temple Consecration
07. Fall Of The Idols
08. Seven Cups Of Divine Outrage

Some would argue that satanic-themed black metal is a thing of the past: it resulted in awesome albums and influenced today's black metal, but satanic-themed black metal isn't needed today as long as the music is good in itself.
Others would argue that black metal needs to be satanic; otherwise, it could stray too far away from its black paths. Novae Militiae is a French orthodox black metal band, Gash'khalah is their first full-length since the demo-album Affliction Of The Divine. Gash'khalah was released by Goathorned Productions in 2017, and is now getting re-released by Sentient Ruin Laboratories and Argento Records. The members of Novae Militiae are anonymous.

The opener of the album immediately, with its dissonant sound, actualizes fellow French band Deathspell Omega. The production has a slight murky Scandinavian tone, but at the same time it has a more modern powerful approach. But as a whole this is a much less melodic and much more speed-driven black metal that comes closer to the aggression of Antaeus. Gash'khalah is a violent black metal album. There is not much breathing space and it's quite monotone; it is as if the album gets slightly worse the longer you listen to it. With multiple listens, some nuances get clearer, but this is always going to be a monotone album. This is not a band that offers quick entertainment; instead we are faced with quite a task to penetrate the black wall of sound. But don't worry; at last, you will get your standard fix of black metal as the closer on the album, "Seven Cups Of Divine Outrage", is quite easy to like.

The concept of satanic black metal might seem a bit silly, but we can almost be sure that such an album will be free from gimmicks or distracting sensations that the commercial music industry encourages. Satanic black metal bands probably don't care much about trends, but not caring about trends is not the same as being non-pioneering. One of black metal's features should be that black metal shouldn't be too easy to enjoy. And here lies the beauty of Gash'khalah: it uses the old tools of black metal, and its relentlessness and violence tone down on melody and offer us an album that's hard to digest. With multiple listens you will find nuances and enjoyment, but this album will always conceal something that you can't grasp.