"Xes haereticum" CD by Enthroned

by Markus Wosgien (September 2004) Fortunately, the Black Metal scene could slim down a bit in the past years. While a few years ago, every new act was signed who could paint himself and spell Bathory correctly, the labels have meanwhile returned to signing only the hopeful ones. The Belgium Enthroned have stirred up the scene for a good decade now and by the mid/end 90s released such classic records, like "Prophecies of pagan fire" or "The Apocalypse manifesto". Despite several line-up changes, the trio around singer and bassist, Sabathan has always stuck to their musical roots, and also on their sixth album, "Xes haereticum" don't differ an inch from their own line. Traditional, very raw Black Metal, reminiscent to the glorious early works of the Nordish scene. The spirit is deep black and bitter fierce, satanic and extreme, just the way Black metal should be. Tracks like "Blacker than black" speak for themselves and present Enthroned stronger than ever before. They have matured and let variety dominate their sound, yet the basic foundations remain unshaken. "Xes haereticum" is a Black Metal opus that makes lust to let oneself be taken over by the dark powers again. (Markus Wosgien - September 2004)