There is a reason why black metal gained in the past, and in the present so many fans around the world; I believe it has more to do with the minimalist and animalistic way in which raw black metal approaches the listener more than the whole satanic attitude; yes is true that every black metal musician that wants to be respected by the underground transforms his attitude into this arrogant, “take no shit from no one“ sort of personality, but still if they don’t manage to come up with some basic riffs, they are just going to become a fashion statement more than a band.

So what is Semper Fidelis? A statement… a statement in how you write, record and perform true black metal; this record has it all, simplistic yet catchy riffs, evil dark shrikes, obscure and terrifying atmospheres, a thick layer of dirt in the recording, and a nice underground storyline behind the recording and the release of the material that just makes you want to have the original copy as it was some sort of evil artifact.

The album starts a bit slow, making you believe for a moment that this is going to be another miserable attempt to bring back the glorious years of Bathory and Mayhem; but wait, just wait, because right after “Artefucked” which is not a bad track is just very “generic” Nargaroth takes flight, bringing all the hate, all the riffs; and oh does the thrash guitars really take the album into a “memory” lane sort of spirit without losing any strength as to show you just how good Kanwulf can get.

The simplistic guitars achieve one of its peak moments in the unforgettable track “Der Leiermann”, truly a song in the spirit of the earliest true black metal outfits that made the genre one of the most seductive ones. The “magic” of Semper Fidelis is that every song is simple, not very elaborate, technical or atmospherically entangled, is just a collection of catchy, evil riffs, something that really shows that Nargaroth can play more than just “Burzum inspired” black; truly one of the best black albums of 2007.