Before Gaahl and his current childish legal disputes, Gorgoroth was led by Infernus while various band members came in and out of Norway's self-proclaimed elite black metal squad. Fast forwarding a few years and whatnot, Gorgoroth eventually released an album that would be considered a slight milestone in their selected genre: Antichrist. Now considering how special and bold most legendary efforts typically are, it becomes blatantly obvious that our CD in question must have somehow weaseled into those divine quarters, because nothing but boring cacophony emerges throughout the thirty minutes of generic junk it presents. If black metal were a car and progression looked like a highway, Antichrist would simply be a random traffic jam causing frustration and drowsiness due to its meandering qualities and trivial nonsense.Here's a basic synopsis of what to expect from our little star in the spotlight: annoying shrieks, unfitting drums, boring riffs, and repetition beyond humanity's limits. It's no mystery that Infernus can perform decently as a guitar player, but every pseudo-pattern he does within this CD is just dull and downright generic in terms of Gorgoroth's sound; some riffs and solos are memorable, yet not what they should be. Modicums of disgorgement violate Frost's terrible drumming as he switches from tantamount weaves while passing the exit to actually appear interesting by doing exactly what you'd expect him to do: blasting, soaking in unoriginal stencils of fast bass-snare sections, and altering between the two. Aiding these countless woes is a horrid example of shrieking in which a troll seems to incoherently shout over redundant formulas, yet that was probably destined due to the multiple other issues plaguing every category. In the end, everything that could go wrong happens; this is simply total malfunction from beginning to end.
Gorgoroth fans will tell you Antichrist has an epic atmosphere unlike any other, which is true, but not in the way you'd probably expect. To find a deep feeling, one must make music that has an overall sense of instrumental power; however, the attempt to structuralize such mood is systemically annihilated by nearly everything. Infernus' dumb riffing, for instance, acts usually vague when crossing into Frost's percussion as these two separate assets seem too out of tune for a proper flavor; now mixing the current duo in with random shrieks and an invisible bass gives off absurdity instead of actual atmosphere. Yeah, it's epic alright... epic failure.
So, in summary, what Gorgoroth released here might have caught the eye of dark individuals at hindsight, yet time's natural ability to make things seem less and less powerful over a given period works against Antichrist without mercy or forgiveness. Anyone exposed to truly great black metal records will most likely find this disc to be a big joke; it's laughably bad throughout, and enjoyable sections come as often as a solar eclipse. Inconsistency is thy name for Gorgoroth's sophomore dud, so treat it with a reservation at the bottom of some recycling bin and focus your attention on a release that actually doesn't disappoint.