Grand Belial’s Key – Kosherat (2005)

November 7, 2023

For all the shit I threw at Arghoslent for being racist, over-hyped trash, I have to admit that Grand Belial’s Key is pretty fucking great in comparison. The motives, themes, and folks behind this are still low on my list of likeable people for obvious reasons, but Kosherat is a solid black metal album.

The production is fairly warm and clear, which itself is refreshing for black metal, but if anything this just allows the band to hammer home their sound more efficiently. The drumming is varied, and well balanced in the overall mix, underpinning the razor-sharp riffs and the excellent vocals. The vocals themselves are layered up, kinda in a war metal way. The shrieks and rasps are sometimes backed up by what sounds like pitchshifted growls (or the same raspy yelps but an octava lower). This unironically reminds me of Shagrath’s vocal techniques on Enthrone Darkness Triumphant era Dimmu Borgir, but of course GBK (Gormet Burger Kitchen?) is a completely different beast.

There are also passages that are influenced from other forms of metal which added together to the cauldron of hatred make this an excellent listen.

All in all, I liked this a lot more than I expected I would.