Re-listened to Blasphemophager this morning. I sold the A-side short when I mentioned it a while back. If you like metal you need to hear these guys. Rhythmically they have got something goin' on.

Meanwhile I'm finally listening to Peste Noire's Mors Orbis Terrarum (Debemur Morti, 2008), which has been out since at least September but I haven't had a chance to hear it 'til now. It's a collection of early demo tapes. Like everything else Peste Noire does, it is awesome. I get the impression Peste Noire are totally cool with it if they never even get heard by 9/10 of the people who might otherwise love their music. I get the impression, just from the sleeve here & the overall vibe of the band across their other also-excellent releases, that Peste Noire would actually prefer that their whole enterprise remain an act of friendship among like-minded people, a gesture of aesthetic intimacy inseparable from the personal bonds forged thereby, not actually fully comprehensible to anybody outside the circle except as an outward sign of some more general concept, the incandescence of which should indicate just how furious the source must feel to its hosts. I get the impression that Peste Noire kick more ass than most other black metal bands and that this album is exactly what you'd expect from a band known for kicking ass.