God Seed

This may be the debut release from God Seed, but the material has been in progress since 2009, when vocalist Gaahl and bassist King ov Hell left Gorgoroth. "Left" is the incorrect word: when the band originally split apart in 2007, Gaahl and King launched a lawsuit to retain the rights to the name, which they finally lost in 2009 to Gorgoroth founder Infernus. With no choice but to move on, the pair fleshed out a new project with Sir (Djerv) and Lost Kilman (Grimfist) on guitars, Kenneth Kapstad (Motorpsycho) on drums and Geir Bratland (Dimmu Borgir) on keys and "noise," and God Seed were born. I Begin is an ambitious and powerful debut, which builds on the foundation of the band members' notably pedigrees, but is also not content to rest on those laurels, pushing beyond the comfort zone of their rasping, bombastic black metal past into something more intricate. "Bloodline" breaks into a fractured, fractal structure at the same time it plays with industrial elements, while Gaahl's yearning, breathy rasps and the haunting keys on "Aldrande Tre" are shiver-inducing. While God Seed are certainly not a complete reinvention, they are a dramatic revision and reinvigoration, and I Begin is a very fine beginning, indeed.