Infinite obscurity can only hold souls of a certain impurity. Fifteen years in blackened limbo was all that it took for Finland's Lord of Pagathorn to awaken from its timeless slumber. Before their initial disbandment, Lord of Pagathorn only released a rehearsal demo and another tape entitled "The Chaos Spirit Among Us" before the hibernation of souls began, but here on "Msilihporcen," they make a frontal assault on the world of old-school black metal as if groups like Dissection or Mayhem were still budding in the scene. The main difference between "Msilihporcen" and other releases that attempt retrogressive black metal is the layer of content between Lord of Pagathorn and its contemporaries at this stage in the game. The catch? "Msilihporcen" is an absolutely phenomenal piece of black metal heaving riff after riff of pure nihilistic doom. Yea, let's see how your Keep of Kalessins or whatever handle this without exploding.The norm of "Msilihporcen" is fairly cut into the same ideals and notions of groups often hailed as the harbingers of black metal; everyone from Darkthrone to Dissection has a mild similarity to these dudes. What separates Lord of Pagathorn from the herd of both eras (remember, they were nonexistent for fifteen years at this point) is the multitude of fantastic guitar work always shrouding the demo. They charge through the dynamic "Chapter I" like a fierce beating of standard black metal riffing never running out of speed, passion, or power. There are about three nice interludes opening the gates to "Msilihporcen," reminding you the journey is nearing its end, and then finally concluding the northern bombardment, wishing you a safe drive. All three are fairly atmospheric and ominous, wonderfully setting the stage for the diabolical incantations surrounding the bands demeanor.
More importantly though, "Msilihporcen" appears to have the same traits and themes of black metal composed way back in the sub-genre's conception; it maintains the same smoldering essence that many groups at the time were preaching. I suppose it helps Lord of Pagathorn continues their march onto the lands of "Chapter II" and "Chapter III," both engaging the same misanthropic blueprint "Chapter I" used with all the monstrous riffs, maniacal drumming and chilling vocals still running at full strength. Hell, the squad doesn't even know what exhaustion means, and you have to love that. "Msilihporcen" also has a wonderful production which diligently captures the core of this old-school black metal perfectly. You could give this to some oblivious metalhead and they'd probably guess it was recorded and released in 1993, no joke.
Maybe it's the opening explosion of "Chapter I" after a mythical introduction that makes "Msilihporcen" so damn good, or perhaps the thrilling onslaught that the demo openly boasts, but either way, Lord of Pagathorn is masterful throughout. Not a single moment of this glorious piece goes to waste, and time and time again it holds up to consistent standards and demonstrates the prime features of black metal without adding useless influences or traps most of the population falls into. Rather, "Msilihporcen" sounds like it's been gathering dust in a drawer somewhere for fifteen years, now unearthed and proudly exploited to the world of evil. However, the group produced this after their major catnap, and it only begs one question: just what could've this band accomplished had they never split at all? Philosophical questions are about as valid as other philosophical questions, but I'll leave you with just one more piece of advice: maim someone, sacrifice a goat, or whatever you have to do to hear this.