Blood Libels is the third album from French black metallers Antaeus, and it's a hell of a release. Those who enjoyed Cut Your Flesh and Worship Satan and De Principii Evangelikum will be pleased at the progress here. The breakneck tempos and frosty vibe are still present, but the production is much beefier now. Purists need not fret; this is no Andy Sneap production. The guitars are still jagged and filthy like rusty sawblades. The sound leaps out of the speakers, though, instead of wallowing in murk.
Drums, in particular, benefit from the production. Ride cymbals slice through "Control and Abuse" like shards of exploding glass. Dark ambient interludes add atmosphere; the menacing intro sends distorted shivers left and right before inevitably yielding to blastbeats. Sinister melodies occasionally add variety to otherwise relentless songs. The tremolo-picked theme to "Colliding in Ashes" would be mournful in other contexts. However, writ large and wrapped in scathing rasps, it becomes apocalyptic.
As is typical with Norma Evangelium Diaboli releases, the packaging is phenomenal. The CD comes in a digipak with beautifully blasphemous artwork and lyrics on both normal and "onionskin" paper. The vinyl version comes with its own special artwork. This release is definitely a total package, and downloading it would lose much of its magic.
7.5/10
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