Proclaiming that Armageddon has arrived Dark Funeral`s continuous battle against christianity rages on the new millenium. With `Diabolus Interium` the Swedes have released (arguably) their most aggressive and varied album up to now. Kicking off in highest gear, `The Arrival of Satan`s Empire` is an ultra-brutal statement that aptly demonstrates this band`s perseverance as well as the talents of their new drummer Matte Modin (Defleshed). Dark Funeral stick to their black metal principles and their fans can therefore blindly purchase the band`s third full-length album. Within the rather narrow boundaries of their raw and straightforward black metal Dark Funeral have managed to integrate as much variation into their music as possible. Never before did vocalist Emperor Magus Caligula display his ability to sound commanding and demonic so well as he does on `Diabolus Interium` (listen for example to `Heart of Ice`).

Even when the band is granting the listener a bit of breathing-space in `Goddess of Sodomy` the atmosphere remains grim and dark. Throughout the 8 tracks the basic tempo is more or less the same (and it`s fast btw...). In order to avoid all songs sounding alike it`s essential that the music offers enough variation for the listener to be able to distinguish the various songs from one another. Although in essence always aggressive, Lord Ahriman succeeded in writing many melodic and even very catchy riffs (`Thus I have Spoken` being a fine example). And this very aspect is one of the major assets of this record, which also lifts it above the (black) masses.