Bethor - nataS liaH (Nazgûl Records) Review by Miloš Šebalj Just the sight of the album’s name made me think of Impaled Nazarene and their demo “Taog eht fo Htao Eht”. Shortly a�er the announcement of this release reminders came that Bethor actually opened for the (in)famous Finns in Belgrade, Serbia. And the connota�ons expand through the music presented on “nataS liaH”. Now, Bethor is one of the oldest black metal bands in Serbia, ge�ng close to entering its third decade of existence. The album in ques�on is the fi�h full length effort. Well, fi�h if you count an album that was a tribute to Bathory and consisted en�rely of covers from the legendary Swedish project. There’s even another Bathory cover closing this album, though the lyrics to “A Fine Day to Die” are in Serbian this �me. While Bethor (as is the pseudonym of the main character of this band) may have been strongly influenced by Bathory on the early releases, the spectrum of his crea�ve affec�ons has widened as of late. Sure, Quorthon’s brainchild is s�ll present, even his later, atmospheric works. However, the essence of this album is buried deep within the most primi�ve, brutal and downright nasty sounding black metal of the oldest school. The men�oned Impaled Nazarene, especially in the ultra-fast drumming, ‘noisy’ thrashing riffing of the German originators Sodom or Kreator or the sonic perversity of Von, Blasphemy and the likes… All of these come together to form “nataS liaH”. Combina�on of these elements is certainly the worst nightmare for people used to any sort of musical finesse. There is nothing like that on this record. Pure, unadulterated fury is what Bethor offers. With all that in mind, things can go just two ways. This can either become a totally unlistenable a�ack of random noises (as is the case, most o�en), or a pressure cooker of devil’s delights ready to explode in your old school ears. Luckily, Bethor goes for door number two. First of all, “nataS liaH” is produced to perfec�on. It packs a terrifying punch with its sheer weight. Polished, but not plas�cized. Very much organic and flowing naturally. Another thing is that the record is composed and arranged in such a way that you cannot really complain of the ‘same old, same old’. There is enough fresh ideas to avoid the simple copycat label. We have enough of those anyway, right? Furthermore, Bethor con�nues the frui�ul coopera�on with Csaba Nemeth who was responsible for the cover artwork, once again. The front cover, while being filled with appropriate black metal imagery, avoids the simplifica�on usually applied to covers of such releases. Sure, “nataS liaH” is raw, primi�ve, old school, necro�c in the best black metal tradi�on. Cliché to a degree even. But… Bethor, version 2020, should be a brilliant gi� for you if the epithets men�oned above have magical grasp on you darkened souls. By far the best Bethor has come up with, to date. Excellent! h�ps://www.facebook.com/Bethor-521365371270723/
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