Review: Lord Belial – Unholy Trinity

K December 3, 2025

Review by K

Lord Belial – Unholy Trinity

Record Label: Hammerheart Records

Year: 2025

Rating: 9/10 (if you’re new to Black Metal)

6.5/10. (If you’ve heard it all before)

The Scandinavian science was making some serious waves in the art of Extreme Metal. “Black Metal” was becoming an everyday phrase. Churches began going up in smoke and people started dying. Mystery surrounded the perpetrators of various nefarious crimes. War broke out between Sweden and Norway (in a handbaggy, slagging each other off kind of way) and slowly but surely some notorious names began to emerge. Burzum, Mayhem, Emperor brandished the torches for Team Norge. Over in Sweden Marduk, Dark Funeral and Dissection et al scowled back at them. And quietly, amid the flames, in Trollhättan, Sweden, in the same year, Lord Belial rose, released demos and then signed to No Fashion Records. By 1995, they were in full swing, releasing their first full-length, Kiss the Goat, just in time for everyone losing interest in the scene. Vikernes had gone to jail, the inner circle had scattered and the newspapers and Kerrang moved onto other things.

And so with Lord Belial we have a band that has consistently performed under the radar, away from the prying eyes of those who don’t need to be exposed to their particular brand of Black Metal. And for those that need to hear them, they have returned with Unholy Trinity, 9 tracks of classy old skool venomous Black Metal in the finest Swedish tradition.

Without preamble, “Ipse Venit” kicks the album off with lots of “rise up!” and other classic phrasing. The beautifully balanced production strikes straight between the optic nerves and then proceeds to rip them to bits. Without blinking, a seasoned listener will identify this band as Swedish, such is the ferocity and relentlessness. The pace is generally pretty rapid, with a short passage of mental activity in the middle. And of course, the tunes are all present and correct. One of (decent) Black Metal’s true strengths is the ability to combine tearing ferocity with quite beautiful melody. Box ticked.

“Glory to Darkness” slithers in next and is another example of a textbook approach to creating a fearsome atmosphere whilst maintaining a tight control over the sonics. Not a single note is out of place, not a single beat is missed. It’s not quite metal-by-numbers, but if Kraftwerk ran a Black Metal equivalent competition, Lord Belial would be right up in the top 5. However, something a little more original is lurking….

“Serpent’s Feast” begins with a gloriously creepy theme that immediately catches the attention. And shortly after that they go all Cradle of Filth with howling choirs straight from Midian. It’s a moment to frown at the speakers and scratch the head, but in the scheme of the song, it all fits quite nicely. A dark piano joins the fray and soon the track is off again at breakneck speed. But it’s a weird one, less the Marduk / Dark Funeral combination that has gone before it, and more Dimmu Borgir. It depends on how much that would upset you, but as already mentioned, it does seem to fit quite well. So far.

Lord Belial

Following the fade out, “Blasphemy” sweeps away the doubt and strikes like a black mamba on speed. This is a seriously vicious track, the riffs reminiscent of early Morbid Angel mixed with Dark Funeral. It’s short, to the point, and for sure the nastiest offering Unholy Trinity has come up with thus far. This is, as our American friends would say, The Shit.

With shivering dungeon-esque water drips and moans, “In Chaos Transcend” splutters into a mid-paced melodic chug, displaying some further Dimmu-inspired theatrics and in places, rather beautiful melodic passages. Gandalf makes an appearance and says something rousing, followed by an upward spiral of atmospheric and classic mid-90’s Symphonic Black Metal. Inspiring and engaging, but nothing you haven’t heard before. But something you’d certainly enjoy hearing again.

Bluntly titled “The Whore”, the next track revisits (again) the oft-trodden path of ye Olde Black Metal of yore. There’s even a cry of “Open the Gates!” which does actually induce a smile. Since track 3, this album has become something of a time warp back to 1995. Whether this is a good thing or not is up to you to decide. Personally, I find it a nice place to be. If this is a turn-off for you, you may crave some scornful vengeance. And because I couldn’t think of a cleverer segue, you happen to be in luck…

“Scornful Vengeance” begins by again leaning on some symphonic crutches, albeit with some more old-school passages. This blend is pretty much becoming the hallmark of Unholy Trinity and as it progresses, it becomes more and more clear that the album is a technically accomplished effort- but at the expense of some originality. There are 2 tracks left to surprise us. I’m rooting for them…

Penultimately, “The Great Void” is the second longest of the tracks on offer here, all of which so far have clocked in around 4 mins. At 5.5 minutes long, die-hard fans will be barely able to hold their piss, such is the excitement of a slightly longer track. Neutrals such as I may, by now, begin to clock-watch a little. There’s nothing wrong with this album at all, quite the opposite. It’s a solid, wonderfully produced collection of very angry, if not furious Black Metal tracks. Everything you need is there on the surface, but once you dig a little deeper, there’s a nagging doubt, a suspicion that something is missing. And I can’t see an 8-minute track called “Antichrist” providing any answers…

And I was right.

So let’s look at the evidence. On the face of it, Lord Belial has produced an album of undeniable quality. As mentioned, there isn’t a hair out of place throughout all of the works on offer. There are crafted passages of nasty minor chord riffing, perfectly executed blast-beat drumming, and well-produced dual-pitch vocals. In fact, the production through the album is nigh on perfect.

But there’s a problem. It depends on your age and experience with Black Metal, which will determine the severity of the problem. If you’re relatively new to the genre and if the aforementioned bands in this review are unknown to you, then you are going to love this album. You’re going to find everything you need here, and none of it is particularly well hidden. It’s brash, in your face and brimming with quality.

However, if you’re someone who is slightly more advanced in respect of years, someone who was around in 1992, someone who has travelled the whole path, then you may find Unholy Trinity to be something of a revision exercise. Virtually every Symphonic Black Metal album of the 90s receives a small nod throughout this collection of undoubtedly classy songs. In most cases, this will be a good album to crank up with a group of like-minded mates. And I guarantee one of them will ask,

“How long ago was this?”