Their Black Mass DVD released earlier this year had built high expectations of Gorgoroth as a live band. TNBM offers a constellation of their best hymns to Satan, but at some point it sounds like the recording of a regular rehearsal; don't mistake me, it does have the perfect sound, but it is disappointingly short and not especially tight.

If the absence of live sounds between the songs is natural for a concert by such a band, one does get the live feeling through this fiery energy only Gorgoroth is able to unleash onstage. My personal favourite on TNBM is the exponentially enhanced performance of "Possessed (by Satan)” that sets one in a trance and alone merits the highest rating.

I'm not convinced that a live CD was the right step to take for a band like Gorgoroth, as they have to be seen, not only heard. When this is said, there is something mystically compelling in imagining the audience hidden between the riffs of blood and fire, and this record manages to make me come closer for each listening.