The first thing one notices when playing this album is that it feels very Norwegian, and not as if it is from a British Black Metal band at all, and then one hears the vocals of Gray Preston and it feels as if Shagrath has jumped ship from Dimmu Borgir and come on board. The vocals are incredibly clear and powerful, and one can actually hear what he is singing, while the backing “vocals” of JJ Flames also add greatly to the overall impact. As for when they stop playing during “One Beast One God” and allow Gray to sing the chorus unaccompanied by jaw just dropped – it is not what I expect from this genre – and then towards the end of the song they deliver a totally different melody altogether!

This is their fourth studio album, three years on from ‘The Delusion Machine’ and I am somewhat surprised to have not come across them before this. What we have here is classic black metal which has been heavily influenced by the likes of Mayhem yet given a modern twist and there are times when it (whisper it) is quite commercial. This is a black metal album one can play to those who would normally stay away from the genre altogether. It is in your face, dynamic and full bore, yet with lots of different twists and stylings which really do make this stand out. There are times when they also remind me of Satyricon, and any band which is taking them as an influence is doing pretty well in my book. We don’t see many international black metal bands down here at the end of the world, but I was fortunate enough to catch the mighty Mayhem a few years back, and I would love to see them again with these guys opening for them. Tight, atmospheric yet always powerful, this is one of the best British black metal albums I have heard in some time.

Rating: 8/10

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/shadowflag13
https://www.clobberrecords.com/