Band:	Lord Belial
Album:	Enter The Moonlight Gate
Style:	Black metal
Release date:	1997
Guest review by:	F3ynman

01. Enter The Moonlight Gate
02. Unholy Spell Of Lilith
03. Path With Endless Horizons
04. Lamia
05. Black Winter Bloodbath
06. Forlorn In Silence
07. Belial - Northern Prince of Evil
08. Realm Of A Thousand Burning Souls (Pt 1)

Let me tell you the tale of the Northern Prince of Evil, chosen for a crusade to tear down the very heavens. Listen and cower before the story of Lord Belial.

"Enter The Moonlight Gate", croaks an ancient voice, before a barrage of riffs and fast-paced drumming catapult us into an ice-cold dimension. The tale begins with Belial entering the Moonlight Gate and thus gaining the power of mighty shadows and the pale, silver moon, swearing to "Open up the skies / Tear all the angels' wings and laugh as they die". Accompanied by haunting female vocals, Belial thereby foretells the Satanic conquest of Heaven—his destined mission. The ensuing eerie atmosphere is filled with an ensemble of bone-chilling guitar-work, screeching vocals and drums akin to cannon fire. With every succeeding riff, we become further immersed in this desolate world, and the story of Belial unfolds before us.

After wandering along a path of endless horizons, Belial dies and is reborn countless times. His hatred for Heaven grows, and he claims the throne of the world, wishing enslavement to mankind. He summons wicked allies: Lilith, the Queen of Midnight, and Lamia, a seductive spirit. Together, before the backdrop of mesmerizing musicianship, they promise to turn the land into a bloodbath. An unexpected melancholic instrumental follows, reminiscent of past wintry melodies, such as those on Dissection's The Somberlain.

Just before Belial's mighty invasion commences, we are given a look into his past: his birth in frost-like fire and how he became empowered by the elder demons of Hell. And so the final epic, the 20-minute-long concluding track "Realm Of A Thousand Burning Souls" begins, recounting the horrifying battle of angels and demons in the burning paradise. The onslaught of wicked guitar riffs mirror the ravenous assault of demons.
Countless black metal bands speak about attacking God, but only few achieve this evil triumph in such grim detail as is portrayed here.

Mournful sighs of perishing angels fill the air as the guitar-playing slows down, and we witness the terrifying image of Heaven's defeat: The Almighty Creator, lying in a pool of angelic blood, weeping in agony. Belial laughs as burning angels plummet from the sky, and we plummet into a 5-minute-long silence of utter darkness. Out of the blackness come thundering drum beats and raucous chanting of demonic warriors, marching into the ransacked paradise, celebrating their accursed victory.

The album ends. I hit the replay button and am once again entranced by the full moon mysticism, embraced by the night. With every listen, new interpretations of this blasphemous tale take shape. The chilling, beautiful female vocals: is that the voice of Lamia, swearing to join Belial on his quest? The instrumental, the calm before the storm: is that an obituary, a mourning for the angelic slaughter to come?

Lord Belial's sophomore release is an evil masterpiece of melodic black metal, encompassing all the core themes of its genre and daring to describe the successful vanquishing of Heaven in all its demonic glory... "God wept"—what a frightening image, delivered in such perfect fashion.