Denial Of God

After a really scary spoken word intro (ahem), this latest from long-suffering Denmark band Denial of God (it's their second full-length – they formed in '91!) begins a long, confounding journey. First song proper "Funeral" is a lengthy (nearing seven minutes) trad metal/doom exploration, one that brings to mind lesser, forgotten but still enjoyable bands of the '80s. But then "Behind the Coffin's Lid" rages out of the gates with tremolo black metal riffing and blast beats before turning into a trad-tinged, overly dramatic expose of what it's like to be buried alive, or something. And it's nine minutes! It's reminiscent of a black metal Wrathchild America with the histrionics and sudden shifts in sub-genres (the last minute turns into a speedy, punked-out thrash attack so drastically I thought it was a different song). And on and on the album goes, six real songs in an hour, attention spans being tested all over the damn place, but the band's wild sense of King Diamond-esque thespianism and lack of caring about genre rules keep the listener interested and headbanging the whole time, even if the reason behind the banging gets a bit muddled, at times.