This 2000 album, originally released on SPV in 2000, saw a rebirth (hence the title), and was the first to feature drummer Antton, brother of Cronos.

For a three piece band this band had a lot of line-ups, enough to put Ritchie Blackmore shame. I don't think a revolving door could keep up!

Anyway, this album kicks off in fine fashion with the title track, before we venture into the usual Venom territory.

The old death metal sound is well updated, original bassist Cronos and guitarist Mantas providing the usual muddy sludged extreme wall of sound they have become. Nothing anthemic, there's no 'In League With Satan' here, but 'War Against Christ' and 'All There Is Fear' do well. The latter is more mainstream extreme metal.

The excellent guitar solos are worth checking out though. While there is a slight but far from total diminish in identity, it's still a good metal album.

Extensive notes (usual self appreciating Classic Rock fare) talk a lot about the politics and problems the band have suffered, fighting and bad blood between Cronos/Mantas and original drummer Abaddon that rivals Gillan Vs Blackmore, but the whole set is well annotated and illustrated.

Nice to see the band clearly involved. Not the band's best, but they have produced a whole lot worse.

***½

Review by Joe Geesin