album : Obsidium
artist : Enthroned
genre : Black Metal
year : 2012
After a few not-so-terrific releases, Enthroned has managed to capture the essence of some real black metal we all need at the moment.
That Pentagrammaton wasn’t an impressive album is something I had made very clear but little did I know that Enthroned would take it so seriously and produce such a fiery black metal record in 2012. Enthroned is a five-piece satanic black metal band hailing from Belgium and they are very much from the early nineties era. 1993 to be specific. Despite one or two weak releases in the last few years one cannot ignore the strong force of musicians behind the venomous black metal that Enthroned have been offering. Things have been mended at the Enthroned camp, and Obsidian is spot on.
All their understanding of occultism have been squashed into nine different raging tracks. Diving straight into some pure uncompromised dark riffs, Obsidium contains a lot of desirable music which would very comfortably canoodle with the side of you that likes pure no-bullshit black metal. The riffs on Obsidian are like heavy winds blowing in pitch darkness, ready to blow away everything in their way. The blast beats (by Garghuf) would turn a dilapidated place into a palace. Take for instance the supreme song Nonus Sacramentvm – Obsidium. It, in no way, shows any signs of weakness. Right from the point of introduction, this track has oodles of black metal which can only make your spine stronger.
Then there is The Final Architect carrying a very heroic aura around it. Nornagest and Nerath Daemon time their entry with their respective guitars to merge with the band’s theme. Rarely do I get to see such empowering metal nowadays in the genre of black metal, considering there isn’t much to experiment in this genre or so is the image being portrayed by today’s bands. It has come down to a point where I listen to a new album and instantly know whether this is worth my time or not. If a band has it, it just has it. Well if it doesn’t then just move on. Horns Aflame, Oblivious Shades and Thy Blight Vacuum usher in the negativity, the progressive bits, and the growth in the album is already on display. Petraolevm Salvia is my pick from Obsidian for being ferocious, cold and energetic at the same time.
With Obsidian I can see Enthroned visiting their old days with double the determination and triple the belief in their music. You might hit and miss Obsidian, but that is why I am here for, to remind you about the best, worst and the mediocre releases. There have been better releases in 2012, no doubt, but Obsidian definitely isn’t littering our black metal. Light a campfire, sit around it and play Enthroned‘s new record to darken the occasion.
Rating : 3.5/5
May 14th, 2012 at 2:32 am
It’s always great when albums you have no expectations from, turn out to be good. Same was the case with Obsidium. Did you check out Naglfar’s latest ?? Not too bad, either.
May 14th, 2012 at 8:00 pm
That’s right, and Obsidium is a smashing album, Utkarsh. Haven’t heard Naglfar’s new record, but would do so only after I’m done writing about the new Carach Angren and Mgła albums. You must hear them too.
May 18th, 2012 at 2:44 pm
I know its irrelevant but wanna know how do you get an update on new releases?
May 18th, 2012 at 8:06 pm
The labels, bands and artists contact me directly. I hope that answers your question. Cheers mate.
May 22nd, 2012 at 10:15 am
Wow, tats big. Not really answers my question but for sure gave me a another reason to visit ur page. Wink wink 🙂
May 22nd, 2012 at 8:02 pm
I wish there were 48 hours in a day, man. So many releases and so less time to write about them. I have to force myself to be selective about penning down my reviews. Oh and enjoy your time here. 🙂
May 23rd, 2012 at 7:35 am
I know! lot of bands, lot of genre’s its freaking vast and growing everyday. You may wanna write somethin about Heathen Beast new EP.. bTW yes its a kinda routine for me to check ya blog a day though there’s no new posts. 🙂 its fun. See if u can say somthin abt my page sinistercreek.wordpress.com ( sure i’m not a skilled writer but just tryin to pass time)
May 28th, 2012 at 9:02 pm
Exactly why I said there should have been more hours in a day. I’m really busy, man. This is how it is – although I want to write about every release that lands in my inbox, I can’t. But I’ll work on trying to balance work and hobby.
I did write about the last Heathen Beast release here. The band sent me the new one long back, but I haven’t heard it yet.
I’ll check out your blog man. No body is skilled. You can only try and do better. 🙂