If we think about the impact of a band like Watain to the world, it comes as no surprise that there's been plenty of followers thereafter, and why not? The aforementioned band's utterly dark and Satanic take on black metal, whilst still retaining a quite accessible touch due to clear production and semi-melodic elements, was and is manna for many. The only problem resided in the copycat bands that followed the footsteps too closely, providing nothing novel whatsoever.
As soon as Erebus Enthroned's debut Night's Black Angel kicks in with ”Enthroning the Harbinger of Death”, I'm a little afraid. Oh oh, here we go again with another identical record combining the sounds of Watain and Marduk. But fortunately I was somewhat wrong and repeated listens have made a surprisingly decent whole to surface. True, almost every nuance of the record reeks of familiar elements, from the ringing, dissonant chords to the mid-level screams and overall song progressions, but I'm still grabbed pretty well by the first track. After that a few weaker links appear, but the kind-of-interlude ”Horns of Severity” bring some fresh air to the game with its ritualistic, melodic patterns. ”Temple of Dispersion” is another that stands out due to being a harrowing ambient piece in between the palm-muted, blasting black metal that at times sounds just too familiar.
Had this album been released ten years ago, it would have reached a legendary state I guess. But now after at least a couple of dozens of similar takes on this branch of contemporary black metal have come out already, Night's Black Angel has a hard time rising from the mass to reach its fans. I personally enjoyed the album a lot more than I often do when it comes to this category (e.g. the recent Sacrilegious Impalement pales in comparison), so hopefully these words are at least a vague contribution to promote Erebus Enthroned's skill over many others in the field.
3 / 5
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