Enthroned

There are two things you can always count on from Belgium's Enthroned: a steadily changing line-up and great black metal. Obsidium is the band's first album since Pentagrammaton (2010) and, thankfully, the same players are in place producing the same exceptional sound. Obsidium continues the band's trend towards the grandiose, with skilful production that gives every song a larger than life sound. As a group that has divided fans into camps favouring either old or new material, this album is definitely for fans of Pentagrammaton and late Enthroned. Nornagest's vocals continue to drop deeper than on previous releases, making for a less traditional black metal experience. However, it's one that's fully within an evolving tradition of ambitious black metal that maintains classic conventions (blast beats, tremolos) while building on the high-quality production and depth of sound that makes today's black metal an earth-shattering phenomenon. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing new or experimental. Nevertheless, Obsidium is a steady stream of epic, stadium-grade metal. This is the kind of album that captures the experience of black metal live.