"Oh, fuck you, Urgehal" is what I thought when I first glanced at the packaging of this CD. Far too many elements of it filled me with the feeling that Urgehal had hopped on the retro-thrash trend. For example, one of the members is now called "Mr. Triggerhappy Leppermessiah" (sic), and is featured wearing an army helmet and wielding a chainsaw in a ridiculous picture on the back of the CD. Oh yes, and let's not forget that he supposedly plays something called the "electric love vibrator." In addition to this, after being confronted with cliche song titles like "Supreme Evil" and "Apocalyptic Devastation," and a collage of the guys in the band having fun and acting silly, I was convinced that Urgehal had completely lost their fucking minds. In fact, the collage on the inside reminded me so much of the one in Swordmaster's "Postmortem Tales" that it was quite disturbing. They even have some moron dressed up in women's underwear just like in the Swordmaster disc. If this isn't a huge coincidence, then perhaps something strange is going on in Scandinavia that we're not hearing about.

Well, I'm pleased to report that all my suspicions were dispelled upon listening to this CD. Urgehal hasn't really strayed too much from the typical black metal formula that made their last album, "Arma Christi," so great. Despite this, "Massive Terrestrial Strike" isn't as good as its predecessor. Granted, there's some great songs featured here, but something about the presentation seems rather lackluster and a few of the tracks tend to get boring after a while. I think that part of the problem has to do with the production, which is a bit flat and lifeless. The disc would have definitely benefitted from a more underground-sounding production as was featured on "Arma Christi." There's some great riffs, obviously inspired by Darkthrone, that permeate the album, and a few of the songs are killer, such as "Image of the Horned King" and "Flames of Black Candles." It still feels like something is missing, though, and I can't quite put my finger on what that is.

In conclusion, "Massive Terrestrial Strike" is a good album, but it really isn't as dark or hateful sounding as their debut. However, it's still worth checking out, and it's pretty safe to say that if you enjoyed their first album, you'll enjoy this one as well. I also have no idea as to what prompted their newer "fun-oriented" image, but I'm relieved that it hasn't harmed the music. Personally, I have a feeling that I will grow to enjoy this CD more as time passes, so don't be surprised if there's a revision of this review in the future.

© 1998 baalberith