Amongst the ever growing stream of underground blackmetal releases one can, from time to time, discover some genuine gems. Mephistopheles third album Modern Instinct’s Purity is an excellent example of what modern-day blackmetal can (and if I may add: should) offer. The German band’s main emphasis lies in guitar-oriented melodies and numerous breaks that both ensure the maintenance of a high level of variation without losing the overall song-structure out of sight. This is the kind of album you play over and over again because the predictability is reduced to a minimum and yet the catchy guitarriffs and rhythmic changes just force you stay focussed and more importantly raise your curiosity, wondering what will come next.

To give you hint as to the musical direction: expect Behemoth-like aggression and variation, Dimmu Borgir-ish atmospheric keyboards and guitar-wise you can look in the Dissection chapter in your blackmetal catalogue. In addition to all of this a very fine and crystal-clear production that enables the listener to capture all different accents, twists and turns on Modern Instinct’s Purity. By far the most interesting release from a underground act in the genre that I have had the pleasure to listen to in a long time.