Old Man’s Child

Ill-Natured Spiritual Invasion (Century Media)
by Paul Lee

What appears to the outside world as a full group is in reality the one-man black metal band known as Old Man’s Child. The talent behind this “group” is a Norwegian blasphemer known as Galder (also of Dimmu Borgir) and he’s put out another great disc with plenty of catchy metallic songs. Ill-Natured Spiritual Invasion continues the terrific traditional metal meets ’90s black metal feeling of OMC’s previous album, Pagan Prosperity. Where bands like Emperor and Enslaved have truly epic, riff-packed songs often surpassing ten minutes, Galder’s are more concise, straight-to-the jugular type of tunes. The elements I enjoy most are the great riffs and his venom-spitting growls with distorted enhancements. All eight songs on Ill-Natured Spiritual Invasion are memorable, heavy, and catchy. Yeah, I said catchy, and I mean it. It wouldn’t be hard for Metallica fans to grab a hold of this (not the lamo fans of today’s flaccid Metallicrap though).

With production by Galder and amazing producer Tomas Skogsberg (the man who made Entombed kick), Old Man’s Child’s production is sharp and powerful. And hell, with a mere 35 minute album, no one will be overwhelmed by the length of this baby. Oh yeah, and the lyrics, who the hell knows what they are (I only got the slipcase, promo version) but they must be evil with titles like “My Evil Revelations,” “Demonical Possession,” and “God of Impiety.”
(2323 W. El Segundo Blvd. Hawthorne, CA 90250)