Jun19

Enthroned – Cold Black Suns Review

Enthroned – Cold Black Suns Review

“I’ve drifted away from black metal over the years. In hindsight, the signs were there; my listening habits shifted away from the genre, I stopped actively seeking out new black metal, I read black metal reviews more for the writing than the record, and – the final straw – while browsing Bandcamp recently, I came across a record and, upon learning it was black metal, muttered “meh” and moved along without pressing play. Then along came Enthroned, with their follow-up to 2014’s great Sovereigns. Despite my ambivalence towards black metal, my interest was piqued; sometimes a bit of nostalgia and familiarity is needed to rekindle a flame.” Back to the black.

Lunar Shadow – The Smokeless Fires Review

Lunar Shadow – The Smokeless Fires Review

“Trying to cobble multiple metal genres together into a unified and effective sound is no easy feat. Especially when one sets their sights on epic traditional metal interwoven with black metal and melodeath influences. Too much of any one ingredient and it all starts to go off the rails. Thus finding that elusive sweet spot is an alchemic challenge few bands are the equal to. Lunar Shadow almost pulled it off on their 2017 debut Far From Light, but a few issues conspired to undermine some of their otherwise good works. Still, it was an interesting album with some compelling moments and it oozed with potential and what ifs. Now they’re back with a new frontman and a more evolved, mature approach to genre crocheting on The Smokeless Fires.” Smoke on Mt. Doom.