DIABOLICAL FULLMOON – RESURRECTION OF THE ANCIENT FAITH (UNHOLY REBORN POLISH BLACK METAL ART) LP (Signal Rex)

Thirty years on from the sacred seal of the infamous Temple of Fullmoon, the belligerent, intolerant howl of Poland’s pagan wolves still reverberates majestically across the ages on ‘Resurrection of the Ancient Faith (Unholy Reborn Polish Black Metal Art)’, the magnificent second full-length of Diabolical Fullmoon, who pay tribute here in timeless honour to that glorious, defining era of elite, true Polish Black Metal as pioneered by seminal, legendary acts such as Graveland, Infernum and Veles.

At the same time as Norway’s churches were being set ablaze by a murderous breed of irrepressible and notorious BM upstarts, parallel to that, a collective of vociferously antichristian, nationalist pagan warriors were wreaking havoc within the deeply-conservative borders of Poland. From the depths of the underground, uncompromising and filled with rage, this ravenous pack of young wolves made many friends with their thrilling, epic, engaging music and enemies with their extreme and unapologetic ideologies. But for the murder and mayhem in Scandinavia, this could have been remembered as the birthplace of Black Metal.

Diabolical Fullmoon is clearly inspired by those days of yore, even though Nott (lyrics) and Leszy (everything else) are way too young to have any lived-through memories of those rapturous days of upheaval. Timeless in every conceivable way, ‘Resurrection of the Ancient Faith (Unholy Reborn Polish Black Metal Art)’ reeks of nostalgia, a raw and melodic blast of pagan Black Metal that could just as easily have been recorded in the ‘nineties as today.

Crafting a tribute to True Polish Black Metal so authentic and accomplished requires a level of enthusiasm and dedication and intuition that is impossible to imitate. Triumphant keys are the bedrock of Diabolical Fullmoon’s wistful, sentimental and stirring sound, not alone on the three enchanting instrumentals, but throughout, as frozen riffs, frenzied battery and wild, feral roars showcase compositions and execution of the highest calibre (no, this is not a mere copy-and-paste homage to the masters, but a worthy offering in its own right).

From the very first strains of ‘The Fall of Israel’, contempt for organised religions is palpable throughout and the crude declarations on the insert reflect a genuine disgust for all sons of Abraham. It’s telling, too, that a Kristallnacht cover is sandwiched between ‘In the Dark Shadows of Carpathian Night’ and the rampaging ‘Storm Through the Pagan Land’ towards the end of the record, while DF also make reference to other elite French hordes.

At a time when Black Metal appears to be losing its all-important radical, counter-culture edge, the paradoxically old-yet-new ‘Resurrection of the Ancient Faith (Unholy Reborn Polish Black Metal Art)’ represents a welcome dousing of fuel across the pews from an unflinching, devoted entity that brings to mind once more that classic phrase: the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Evilometer: 666/666