In terms of black metal, Canada is probably most famous for the barbaric war metal of bands like Blasphemy, Revenge and the late Axis Of Advance. Such gloriously primitive efforts are, however, many miles from the broad creativity exhibited by A.M.S.G..
The band’s name is an abbreviation of ‘Ad Majorem Satanae Gloriam’, which as any Gorgoroth fan will know is Latin (more or less) for ‘For The Greater Glory Of Satan’.
The band are fairly serious in their Satanic intent too, this being very much in the anti-cosmic vein that has become familiar within the genre in the last decade. Far from the cold, monochromatic black metal of, say, many Swedish practitioners, this is bold and colourful in its occult flair, with plenty of surprises and otherworldly leanings, and nods to the ambience – if not necessarily the sound – of bands as diverse as Cult Of Fire and Inquisition. Clean guitars, some saxophone, progressive meanderings, epic and melodic mid-paced numbers, sampled invocations and passages of mesmerising battery mean this will keep you interested for some time.
