Greek black metal band Lucifer’s Child are back with their second album. Formed by George Emmanuel, a prolific guitarist primarily known for his work with Rotting Christ with bassist Stathis Ridis (a member of another long-running Hellenic metal unit, Nightfall) in 2013. The duo quickly expanded with vocalist Marios Dupont (Karma Violens) and drummer Nick Vell (Chaostar), and delivered their debut album, ‘The Wiccan’ in 2015. As one would expect with a member of Rotting Christ in the band, this is powerful stuff, but what is really interesting is while they are bringing together multiple different atmospheric elements to combine with the guitar attack, it actually comes across as incredibly mainstream and commercial.

What makes this so successful is the way they combine all the different elements, twisting and bringing together multiple strands and ideas. I wasn’t sure about the production of the drums when I first heard the album, as the snare has quite a strange sound, but after a while I realised that it was perfect for what was at hand. The vocals are often kept back a little in the mix, allowing the guitar to take centre stage, with the bass also behind the main sound, yet it all comes together to create a commercial and effective black metal album which would be a great introduction to the genre for anyone not sure what to expect, and delivering in spade for anyone who is already into this style of music. Greece has built a strong reputation for powerful metal over the years, and Lucifer’s Child are definitely playing their part. Superb.

Rating: 8/10

Links:
https://www.luciferschild.net/
https://www.agoniarecords.com/