Band:	Glorior Belli
Album:	Ô Laudate Dominvs
Style:	Black metal
Release date:	April 30, 2005
A review by:	KwonVerge

01. Dictum Audiens
02. Ô Laudate Dominvs
03. Poisoned Flesh
04. Celestial Phenomena
05. In Paradisum...
06. Eternal Torments
07. Darkened Shroud
08. Stigma Diaboli

I've always wondered why Glorior Belli never were in the roster of NoEvDia, it may be a rhetorical question, so I should stop searching for an answer after all. The journey began in a fathomless abyss with Ô Laudate Dominvs and the Watain references start shining through the black & white occult aesthetic of the cover artwork. The rest are about to unfold in front of your very ears as the album starts speeding all over the place.

Glorior Belli had ferocious teachers and in this case either you follow their footsteps in discipline and worship or you follow your own path keeping the most important aspects of everything you've learnt. Ô Laudate Dominvs belongs in the first case and they studied really well albums like Watain's Casus Luciferi, Antaeus' Cut Your Flesh And Worship Satan and Deathspell Omega's Si Monumentum Requires, Circumspice to name a few. The album opens with a chanting theme, "Dictum Audiens", which creates a hallucinating and devout ambiance, a sign of heaven before the eclipse of His reign; "astral columns are swaying, and Void is unleashed."

The key to the lock of the battle is that every single instrument is a weapon itself and all together a fierce assault. From the pushing railway riffing that is dancing at the razor's edge to more dense and boiling guitar infusions or more rhythmic dissonance the horde is marching like a fiery maelstrom to meet the pounding bass lines in collaboration with the malevolent drumming. And like in every dreadful event, the hoarse and slightly echoing vocals stand in the eye of cyclone, absorbing all negativity to its core so that the pace won't be slowed down. The task of destruction must be accomplished; and it will be. The universe retracts and enlarges itself with every second that passes through the fast-paced tempos and the production keeps the instruments in the foreground while at the same time lends depth to the compositions. Sometimes less is more and prevents the listener from getting tired. Henceforth the album's 32 minutes of duration are just fine.

Ô Laudate Dominvs may not be one of the most personal albums around, but Glorior Belli know what they're doing; and they're doing it well. With respect to their references, inspiration, strong musicianship and enormous amounts of hate they managed to present a decent debut that was meant to please the legions of the so-called orthodox black metal.