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FLAGG “Diabolical Bloodlust”
FLAGG “Diabolical Bloodlust”
By Dr. Abner Mality
FLAGG seems to be a strange name for a Finnish black metal bands, but for all I know, maybe “flagg” is Finnish for Satan. As the Bard might say, a rose by any other name…
“Diabolical Bloodlust” is a better indicator of what to expect here. This is an extremely traditional sounding black metal record, but rooted more in the second half of the 90’s, when the genre was beginning to realize that “pro sound” didn’t necessarily mean “poser”. Think of grim yet melodic bands like ENTHRONED, CIRITH GORGOR and of course DISSECTION. That’s where FLAGG is coming from and they don’t care if you know it. The record sounds like it could have been released in 1998.
That will cheer many a black heart and it doesn’t bother me much, either. FLAGG keep the blasting speed onslaught going, based on familiar and catchy evil riffs. The title track and “The Book of Death” are about as stripped and basic as melodic black metal can get, which gives the songs a laser-like focus. They also toss in dark and wintry keys to enhance the relentlessly bleak mood, especially on the almost classical music oriented “Throne Regained” and the eerie mid-track break in “In Famine And In Pestilence”. As you might expect, the vocals of Mr. Flagg...yes, the band is named after him...sound like a troll screaming its lungs out in a blizzard.
The two real crackers here are “Morningstar Rising”, which has one of the coolest and most original riffs I’ve heard in traditional BM, and the album ending monster, “Omega Dawn”, which has a real majestic feeling to it. The only thing that keeps FLAGG from being truly great is the bald fact that this has all been done before. I know they weren’t aiming for originality, but a couple more tracks like “Morningstar Rising” sure wouldn’t have hurt. This record comes recommended to fiends who remember the late 90’s with fondness.
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