Relying too heavily on blast beats can be somewhat of an annoyance especially to me. I'm a guy that loves a well placed line of blast beats around some groovy riffs and bass work. This would explain why I find Tomb of the Mutilated to be so essential, because the blast beats are well played, inserted at the right times and only at the right times, and never grow stale. That being said, Belphegor released their fourth album in 2003, entitled Lucifer Incestus.

While the aforementioned complaint regarding some Death and Black Metal acts reigns somewhat true with Lucifer Incestus, Belphegor do well in maintaining enough hooks to keep me listening, not to mention perfect execution of the numerous blast beats laden within this album. Lucifer Incestus is not a deviation from what Belphegor release each album, it just seems that they do everything better on this album.

The first and last track are an intro and outro, but what lies after the intro is truly a beast of a song and one of my favorites in the genre of all time: The Goatchrist. I can never tell if the members of Austria's Belphegor have a twisted sense of humor or are just messed up in general. This album has several songs that could be taken either way, such as the previously mention The Goatchrist, Fukk the Blood of Christ, and Demonic Staccato Erection. The Goatchrist is a monster of a song. The first few notes plucked on the bellowing guitars are heavy as Hell, and as the drums come in with the blast beats, Helmuth lets out a bestial roar that sets the tone of the album with a bang. With interesting interludes, coupled with a nice solo and some phenomenal drumming, The Goatchrist truly is a track to remember.

The songs on Lucifer Incestus don't exactly tail off after The Goatchrist but a similar barrage of frequent blast beats kind of get in the way of it being scored any higher. The guitars on this album are really underrated. The solos are excellent and the tone is wonderful, capturing a fuzzy yet precise sound that is perfect for Blackened Death Metal. The riffs alternate from more Black Metal to more Death Metal sounding styles within each song, creating a splendid variation that truly drives the album towards a more enjoyable experience. In fact, after listening to this album several times through, I have learned to enjoy the guitars even more than the drums, which are played very well yet are sometimes a drawback because of the high propensity for lengthy blast beats.

From what I have heard (about 3 or 4 albums) from Belphegor, this one is certainly my favorite and is really the only product from Belphegor that frequently graces my player. A solid album, hooking, yet sometimes stale. If you want your ears pelted by nonstop Satanic madness, this is what you should seek, however if you're in a Melodic mood, avoid Lucifer Incestus altogether.