ENTHRAL — Obtenebrate (review)

ENTHRAL — Obtenebrate album cover Album · 2012 · Black Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
UMUR
"Obtenebrate" is the 4th full-length studio album by Norwegian black metal act Enthral. The album was released through Duplicate Records in March 2012.

The music on the album is technically well played black metal. The tracks are generally well composed, the musicianship is excellent and the album features a powerful sound production that might be raw but certainly not lo-fi. The atmosphere on the album is dark and brooding. For the most part the music features enough variation to keep the 10 track, 68:29 minutes long album entertaining although some tracks do drag on a bit too long. Repetition is of course a great part of many black metal albums and used as an atmosphere builder/enhancer, but I do feel Enthral lack a bit of dynamic in the way they use this element. The vocals are harsh and raspy but pretty standard for the genre.

And that´s what strikes me as interesting about "Obtenebrate", because on almost every parameter, they deliver a professional and well sounding black metal release, but somehow I´m still left wanting them to branch out and do something different. There are not enough standout moments in the tracks and therefore they are not that memorable. A shorter playing time would probably have helped too, but for fans of well played, very well produced and for the most part well written black metal "Obtenebrate" is probably a recommended purchase (I´ve read quite a few reviews that praised the album). A 3.5 star (70%) rating isn´t all wrong.
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