Enthroned - XES Haereticum
Napalm Records - NPR 149 - 2005
By Philip Whitehouse
Enthroned have always seemed to these ears to be something of a third-tier outfit - respected by their fanbase for their consistency and longevity, while generally offering little to entice new listeners to abandon their preferred listening material in their favour. The sort of hyperblasting, relentless Satanic grimness that they tend to release is being done hundreds of times every year, in several cases by people who are simply a lot better at it. Perhaps that's why
XES Haereticum sounds like such a drastic improvement - because
Enthroned seemed to have realised that memorable arrangements, tastefully-implemented melodies and, above all, an element of restraint can work wonders for their fortunes.
Although, restraint probably isn't really the right word - this is still fast-paced, viciously performed black metal, complete with harsh, strangled vocal shrieks, tremolo-picked trebly-trill riffage and enough high-velocity drumming to create a small whirlwind in the studio. However, these onslaughts of diabolical intensity are broken up with some surprisingly catchy melodic riffage, and even some well-performed solos. For instance, the solo in 'Dance Of A Thousand Knives' provides an effective and memorable melodic breathing-space from the blackened-thrash riffage and blastbeating insanity of the rest of the track.
Also, other new elements have come to the fore in
Enthroned's sound - for instance, the clean vocals featured in 'Seven Plagues, Seven Wrath'. It's surprising to hear, and thus instantly memorable, and works surprisingly well within the context of an
Enthroned song that is already considerably more mid-tempo and epic than most of their material.
So, improvements all round generally, which merge to create an intriguiging and enjoyable album that hints at further developments to come.
7/10
Enthroned Official Website
Napalm Records
