(Andy Synn reviews the second album by UK band The Infernal Sea.)

To say I’ve been champing at the bit to get hold of a copy of this album would be a severe understatement. To my mind The Infernal Sea are, without a doubt, one of the finest, filthiest, most utterly ferocious bands currently prowling this green and pleasant land of mine, having spent the last six years spreading their virulent strain of grim ‘n’ gritty Black Metal like a veritable Biblical plague.

However, as good as their previous releases (one full-length album, one EP, and two splits) were, it still always felt to me like the band’s full potential had yet to be realised, and multiple exposures to the band’s contagious brand of blackened intensity in the live arena only served to solidify this feeling.

Praise Satan then that the band’s second album, The Great Mortality, is exactly the sort of near-perfect realisation of their sound and vision that we’ve all been waiting for, fulfilling all the band’s nascent promise… and then some! Continue reading »