By Albert Mansour

Now I know most of you will compare them to Dark Funeral, Vintersorg, Borknagar and the like, but Victoria BC’s Black Lotus is definitely one of Canada’s most surprising hidden gems. What I like most is how they deliver short but deep old school  raw nordic black metal style tracks like “Of Pathless Woods”, “Wreath Of The Triumphant Sun” and “Prelude.” Having released their second full length album with that raw production style on this cd makes it something to rave about in today’s black metal scene.

Black Lotus also uses some  vocals similar to Vintersorg/Borknagar. I am not crazy about this aspect, but, for me, all of the tracks were well composed.  Overall the album is a journey, and once hooked, you’ll find you don’t want to put it down. Give it a good strong listen and expect something out of the ordinary in a very good way.

http://www.myspace.com/blacklotusmetal

(Bleak Art Records)

You can also read another review of this album at http://www.musicalwarfare.com/2009/07/09/recent-arrivals/