Band:	Bethlehem
Album:	Dictius Te Necare
Style:	Black metal
Release date:	April 1996

Disc I [1st Murder]
01. Schuld Uns'res Knöch'rigen Faltpferds
02. Wo Adlers Wagen [Iron Maiden cover]
03. Furzes
04. Schatten Aus Der Alexander Welt [remix]
05. Schuld Uns'res Knöch'rigen Faltpferds [remix]
06. Nexus [remix]
07. Suicide Radio [remix]
08. Wo Adlers Wagen [Iron Maiden cover] [remix]
09. Weicher Stuhl [remix]
10. Religion Isst Auge [remix]
11. Allmächtiger Dorn [remix]

Disc II [2nd Murder]
01. Schatten Aus Der Alexander Welt
02. Die Anarchische Befreiung Der Augenzeugenreligion
03. Aphel - Die Schwarze Schlange
04. Verheißung - Du Krone Des Todeskultes
05. Verschleierte Irreligiösitat
06. Tagebuch Einer Totgeburt
07. Dorn Meiner Allmacht

Bethlehem is one of best doom/black metal bands around and there's no-one to deny it. They have proven their worth with fabulous albums of extreme depression, albums like "Dark Metal", "Dictius Te Necare", "S.U.I.Z.I.D." etc and I am here to talk about their second release, the utterly inspired and menacing "Dictius Te Necare".

From its very first second, where you hear Landfermann scream in emotional ecstasy and utter bereavement, until its very last sound, "Dictius Te Necare" flows in an unerring and stunning way, showing the band's grandeur and personal identity. Doom/black metal at its finest and the album flows, definitely, as one, keeping the interest of the listener to the highest levels with its intensity and vivid atmosphere.

The album balances between slow mourning passages, where the guitar riffing is grieving and evokes an intense sense of bitterness and the rhythm section creates walls of sound, with Landfermann pouring his soul to the lyrics interpreting in a various extreme way, and more upbeat black metal oriented moments that escalate the emotional charge of the compositions, with everyone in the band doing his best to unleash emotions of anger and pain in a raging way, as it has to be, with the singer sounding deeply twisted, howling in one of the most vivid ways I have ever heard.

The guitar riffing is inspired and the ideal for the album since it seems that the way the guitar passages have been built could not be better and fit the sound of the band in another way, whether the guitars sound distorted or have an acoustic sound, evoking, in one hand sinister emotions of sorrow, on the other hand an atmosphere of menacing serenity. And what to say about the rhythm section, the bass lines with their nocturnal pulses lend the ideal groove to "Dictius Te Necare" and the drumming accompanies the band in any tempo, evoking a groovy imposing feeling at some times, a more fiery and raging one at others. Needless to say that the bass lines are just fabulous and they play a vivid part in Bethlehem's sound. Landfermann sounds perfect, having one of the most extreme vocals I have ever heard (along with Marco Kehren [Deinonychus, ex-Bethlehem]) and his interpreting is paranoiac and twisted, whether he howls, screams, grunts or recites in a painful, always, manner. The slight use of the piano and the keyboards adds another sense to the overall gloominess of the album.

If I had to pick up some compositions from this desolate opus to grief and lachrymose emotions I would, definitely, not forget to mention "Schatten Aus Der Alexander Welt", "Aphel Die Schwarze Schlange", "Tagebuch Einer Togeburt" and the ideal closing for such a depressing album, "Dorn Meiner Allmacht".

If you are searching for extreme mourning music then Bethlehem, one of the most representative bands in the extreme doom metal scene, is a must-check band and "Dictius Te Necare" a must-have album. I guess the quote in their booklet, "This album is dedicated to all suicide victims", says it all, just don't miss it!