11

Black Metal returns to life.

Incase you haven't noticed, Black Metal died a long time ago - the introduction of melodic death metal led to allot of new interest in Black Metal, but it seems most fans these days are happy listening to Black Metal muppet Dani Filth as opposed to the real thing - Mayhem, anyone?

Well, if Xes Haereticum is anything to go by Dani may need to start hiding his millions - Enthroned are grabbing Black Metal by the throat, giving it a good smack and shouting "This is how it's done!" Nobody on the earth is making Black Metal that pays homage to the Black Metal gods of days gone by. Enthroned certainly don't plan to get onto Top of the Pops with this new opus - absolutely nothing has been cut down or left out to make the album "easier to listen to".

Thankfully, after a few tries at the album even the most unaware of listeners will be able to hear the primal brutality that died when Burzum stopped and Dimmu Borgir started - hopefully Xes Haereticum will be able to allow other bands to finally annihilate the cushy black metal of nowadays and return to the roots of solid hatred.

Enthroned won't be everyone's cup of tea, and if Cradle of Filth have numbed you long enough you won't hear brutality or history on this album, you'll hear noise which hasn't been screwed with long enough to pass for a pop song. For the rest of us, the rotting carcass of black metal is finally looking tasty again.