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As the sole(?) survivor of the French Black Legions ("Les Légions Noires"), whose motto back in the days seemed to be as underground as possible, Mütiilation sure have been quite productive and visible in recent years.. Ah, what suicide will do to a man. :) OK bad jokes apart, this band once known only to the underground of the underground is now much better known in extreme metal circles, hailed as genius by the minimalist BM fans and as crap by the others. It's been a while since I listened to other material by this band, so if you're looking for a comparative review, you'll have to look elsewhere. I do remember enough however to say that "Majestas Leprosus" will not in any way change the opinion of people of have their mind set on the musical merits of this one-man band. Extremely raw, chaotic, anything-but-technical, low-fi production (not as "bathroom-sounding" as some of the earlier material, however) is what Mütiilation is about and this is no exception. Couple this minimalist metal with out-of-this-world agonizing, hate-filled vocals (I know, this sounds cliché but that's what these vocals are) and you get a 45 minutes that's about as depressingly hateful, sometimes suicide-inducing (figuratively anyway...) and as Satanic as it can possibly be. Well I'm sure somebody somewhere has heard something from someone that does better - there always is.

There's no point discussing musicianship and production quality when talking about a Mütiilation album. What this band is about is immersing the listener in an atmosphere of extreme hate, aggression and depression with anti-Christianity as the glue to hold things together. "Majestas Leprosus" maintains this path. Not exactly the best I've heard in the genre (I'm sure I'd find some of Mütiilation's earlier work better if I were to refresh my memory with a few spins of their back catalogue), but amateurs of minimalist, nihilist raw Black Metal should find something to like here. Others should steer clear of this at all cost. :)