The third album by Swedish black metal masters Lord Belial is a fantastic war cry, mixing violence, sheer brutality and a somehow melancholic feeling. Here it is a wonderful, angered, raw and evil piece of black metal to which acoustic guitars and few other occasional addings give a sometime melancholic, sometime gloomy or epic aura, yet without any compromise with melody or folkish elements or so. “Unholy Crusade” stays just in the middle, not too brutal – it’s sheer black metal still! – neither too atmospheric or melodic, a perfect blend!
