2026 Anniversary Series 077: Gorgoroth – Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam

Scribed by Sandre the Giant Released: 19th June 2006 When the ball finally dropped with me and black metal, I devoured every classic band’s discography as quickly as I could find them, but when new stuff appeared, I was as voracious too. Gorgoroth were one of those bands whose new material led me to their older stuff, and in 2006 came ‘Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam’, probably the band’s last great record and certainly the last one with the classic lineup (including a special appearance from Frost on drums) before all of the legal dramas that were to follow. But we’ll get to that. Twenty years later, it still feels like an album by a band ready to take black metal by the scruff of the ideological neck and define its future. Ah Gorgoroth, well this Gorgoroth before all of the chaos to come, were ready to take over the 2000s black metal scene with this album, from the moment the murky yet sleekyl savage ‘Wound Upon Wound’ roared from your speaker. Gaahl’s charismatic roar was always a…