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With just two full-lengths to its name, this Canadian ensemble has already shed its mortal coil and called it a day. Kind of a shame, since a Folgers taste test between those two releases (the earlier one being Systematic Suicide) reveals a qualitative leap forward. The sound is a deceptively pandering one: blackened industrial metal (not to be confused with industrial black metal) that skirts the likes of Electric Hellfire Club, Rammstein and Dimmu Borgir. When I squint my eyes slightly, the whole thing even resembles the likes of Passage/Eternal-era Samael. The difference between dese and dose, though, is that Virtigo’s songs clearly begin with the beats first, rather than a musical note, a riff or even a lyric. The first album seemed particularly dancefloor-greedy, with every subsequent tune sounding far too much like the one before it. This one, though, has peaks and valleys galore. The black metal vocals sound more like the real thing and the guitars sound fully integrated vis-à-vis the synth and drum programming. “Cult of Fools and “The Spear of Longinus,” in particular, are winning as hell, with their serpentine, Oriental riffs and deliberate pacing. It doesn’t feel just for club kids anymore, and the band is all the richer for it. Or would be, rather, if it didn’t go bust. Oh well, in the words of Erykah Badu, see you next lifetime....
| Tracklist |
| 1. Rituals of Broken Flesh (Instrumental) |
| 2. Dysfunctional Visions |
| 3. Forced Choices |
| 4. Cult of Fools |
| 5. The Spear of Longinus |
| 6. Inside The Mind of Thy Torment |
| 7. Xaphlan Convoys Acrimonia |
| 8. The Holy Harlot |
| 9. The Architect of Self Destruction |
| 10. Suffering For The Sick |
| 11. The Judge of Christian Derlict |
: 45:51
| Buy other Virtigo albums |
