Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Bondage Goat Zombie
2. Stigma Diabolicum
3. Armageddon's Raid
4. Justine: Soaked in Blood
5. Sexdictator Lucifer
6. Shred for Sathan
7. Chronicles of Crime
8. Sukkubus Lustrate
9. Der Rutenmarsch

Disc 2:

1. Bondage Goat Zombie [DVD]
2. Bonus Material [DVD][*]

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #160196 in Music
• Released on: 2008-04-15
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .26 pounds

Album Description
The mantra, "Stagnation is Death!", could not ring truer for Austria's premier extreme metal act. On their eighth studio album, Belphegor have drawn lyrical and emotional inspiration from the mystical celebration of Walpurgisnacht. This celebration of springtime and fertility continues to fascinate with its stories of hedonistic midnight gatherings where unspeakable acts of evil and lust took place. The band pulled both lyrical content and inspiration from these fantastical and otherworldly tales which lent themselves perfectly to Belphegor's peverse and extreme attack. With Walpurgis Rites - Hexenwahn, the new echelon of blackened death metal, they take their creativity and songwriting prowess to infernal new depths. Catch them on tour this fall as part of the first-ever Pagan-themed Heathen Nation 2009 alongside Eluveitie, Alestorm & Vreid!

Customer Reviews

Not What I Expected
I found Belphegor's newest album Bondage Goat Zombie to be thoroughly refreshing and excellently executed. This isn't to say that their previous releases haven't been good. It's just that this album is surprisingly good. With this album, Belphegor have embraced a more epic sound to go along with their already punishing black/death metal. Incorporating melody and patience into the music, they have achieved a more varied range of expression instead of playing pure, punishing speed all the time. The most noticeable examples are the more structured nature of the songs (some even follow a verse-chorus format) and the epic sounding choruses. Belphegor achieves this by holding the chords longer during the chorus than during the rest of the song (sometimes up to eight beats per chord). This lengthens the chorus sections and allows melodies to be played over chords. It also reinforces the verse-chorus feel, which in turn add cohesion to the songs.

With the exception of Sexdictator Lucifer (a mid-paced song and easily the weakest of the bunch), the songs follow this pattern - Justine: Soaked In Blood, Shred For Satan, and the title track being the standouts. Honestly, I could never really have foreseen that I would be recommending a Belphegor album for reasons such as these, but I am. This is an excellent example of black metal that is epic without losing any of its power.

Belphegor is one of those rare bands...
...that can really combine crushing brutality with "bang your head and shake your fist" epic melody. I personally know of no band that is heavier and more brutal than Belphegor that doesn't also degrade into utter noise. These guys hold together a consistently demonic groove that keeps you firmly in place and under their spell while at the same time severely punishing you with some of the most brutal death/black chops you could imagine. And you're loving every minute of it.

This release is their most mature to date. As a long time Belphegor fan, I really like the direction in which this band seems to be headed - and that is to be the absolutely most evil, yet epic sounding band on the planet. Belphegor competes in this very narrow field with masters like Yyrkoon, Myrkskog, and Zyklon. With "Bondage Goat Zombie," Belphegor has just raised the bar for the others to aspire to.

Expected more....
Let me start off by saying that I love Belphegor. I was really excited to get this cd..... and was let down. They really don't captivate the listener as much as their other albums(Lucifer Incestus, Goatreich-Fleshcult, Bondage Goat Zombie). The music isn't bad, but the songs on Hexenwahn seem a little redundant. There are really no songs on this album that jump out at you. The riffs and song structures are nothing new and nothing that great. I would recommend their other albums. Hopefully the next Belphegor album will be better.