Time Signature Oracle ov metal...

Genre: black metal

Get ready for an onslaught of brutal Belgian black metal in the form of "Obsidium" from Enthroned.

Brutal like Svarttjern and grindingly chaotic like Mayhem and staying true to the black metal genre, this album is rich in the typical features of the genre, such as blastbeats, tremolo picking, tense harmonies and harsh vocals - so this is a release which definitely should make a lot of black metal fans happy.

But there are several points where Enthroned contribute with their own approach to black metal. While repetition of primitive riffs is a typical feature of the genre, the tracks on this album are more varied - but no less evil - which is probably one of the factors "Obsidium" being more brutal than atmospheric. The riffage ranges from typical black metal tremolo picking over more defined riffs (some of which have a death metal feel to them while others are more thrashy and others again more punky) to heavy passages. There also seems to be an influence from Celtic Frost which rears its head every now and again - just check some of the riffage in 'Nonus Sacramentvm'.

Also, while there is some reverb on the vocals, the overall sound is less drowned in reverb than a lot of other black metal releases are. As you might have guessed, "Obsidium" is one of those black metal releases which is not totally lo-fi (especially the drums have a well-defined sound that allows you to hear all the details), but it is not polished either, and the guitars dob have a razor-like sharp quality to them.

In "Obsidium", Enthroned have made a fine release which observes the conventions of black metal, but which is still varied and brutal and might appeal to listeners who like extreme metal but are not necessarily into black metal.

Wilytank Enthroned aren't talked about too much, but they have a nice collection of albums on catalog. I've listened to 'Prophecies of the Pagan Fire', and while it was solid I didn't think too highly of it. Today, I checked out 'Carnage in Worlds Beyond' and thought it was a pretty nice improvement (I'll fill in the three album gap to listen to later).

Right from the first tastes of black metal in "Boundless Demonication", I'm thrown into Destroyer 666 and Marduk territory. Which is nice to have because it's familiar ground for me. But this Belgian bloodbath definitely has its own charms. All the instruments are well played, there's tempo changes to make the songs interesting, and there's solid production.

Though not exactly innovative, Enthroned can make a very entertaining black metal album such as 'Carnage in Worlds Beyond'. It definitely kept me interested with "Graced By Evil Blood" being the biggest highlight.