''Heritage of Satan'' is the ninth studio album by the Czech

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/ heavy metal band

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, released on 25 October 2011 by Agonia Records. It was the band's first album to be released by Agonia and their last with the guitarist Marek "Ashok" Šmerda, who left the band three years later to join

Cradle of Filth Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved originally from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic metal and other metal genres. Their ly ...

. The album uses many guest musicians, such as

Erik Danielsson Watain is a Swedish black metal band, formed in 1998.Eduardo Rivadavia: ''Watain Biography'' Allmusic, Macrovision Corporation. The band's name is taken from an early recording by the American black metal group Von.Ronald Ziegler''Merchandise w ...

from

Watain Watain is a Swedish black metal band, formed in 1998.Eduardo Rivadavia: ''Watain Biography'' Allmusic, Macrovision Corporation. The band's name is taken from an early recording by the American black metal group Von.Ronald Ziegler''Merchandise w ...

(who also provided its cover art),

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from Behemoth and Blasphemer from Mayhem,

Aura Noir Aura Noir is a Norwegian black/thrash metal band from Oslo. Aura Noir is heavily influenced by early thrash bands such as Voivod, Slayer, Sodom and Kreator, to the latter they have also dedicated some of their songs. The band's main lyrical th ...

and

Ava Inferi Ava Inferi was a musical group formed in Almada, Portugal, by Norwegian guitarist and songwriter Rune Eriksen (a.k.a. Blasphemer, Mayhem (band), Mayhem). Their debut album, ''Burdens (Ava Inferi album), Burdens'', was released in January 2006. ...

Critical reception

The album received mixed to positive reviews on its release. Scott Alisoglu, writing for '' Blabbermouth'', gave it 7 out of 10, saying, " toffers a range of variations on that classic Scandinavian theme, not least of which includes a good amount of black 'n roll, straight-up grooves, some gothic shading and creative oddities, making for an album that stands apart from the pack, if not always in a way that will pull the listener in for the long term." ''Metal Reviews'' was more critical of the album, giving it 73 out of 100 and calling it a "fun album at best, not a brilliant one. Big Boss is on decent form, his malevolent deep growl as hair-raising as ever, yet the songwriting is somewhat lacking, being adequate rather than full of the spinechilling anthems that we've come to expect from the band". ''Metal Blogs'' praised the album for its mixture of genres such as

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with t ...

sludge metal Sludge metal (also known as sludge or sludge doom) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that originated through combining elements of doom metal and hardcore punk. It is typically harsh and abrasive, often featuring shouted vocals, heavi ...

and punk rock, but criticized the length of its introduction track, ultimately giving it 14 out of 20.

Track listing

Personnel

* Big Boss (Jiří Valter) – vocals, drums (track 2), production * Marek "Ashok" Šmerda – guitar, production * Igor Hubík – bass guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals * Paul Dread (Pavel Kubát) – drums * Daniel Řeřucha – vocals (track 10) *

– additional vocals (tracks 2 and 6), cover art *

(Adam Darski) – additional vocals (tracks 2 and 9) * Blasphemer (Rune Eriksen) – guitar (track 6)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heritage Of Satan 2011 albums Root (band) albums