When we are dealing with Black Metal, we must keep in our minds that in every country you can think of, the genre has its own features. Although the haunted shores of England have just a few names in Black Metal, we can say that they are relevant, as CRADLE OF FILTH, HECATE ENTHRONED and ETHEREAL. But in the English underground some excellent works in Black Metal can be found, as from WRITTEN IN TORMENT, a one-man band with 14 years of existence. It's time for the second album to impact the world, and it's called "Si Vis Pace, Para Bellum".

It's different, because the brutality and aggressiveness of the band is tempered with some darkened and good melodies (a great feature from English Black Metal). The songs are filled with a raw and dense energy, sounding with personality, a good technique, some distorted guitar solos, and some different vocals tunes can be found along with Pagan/Folk parts. Yes, I know it's not a new way to play Black Metal, but it's truly personalized and the band's musical work sounds great to our ears. The album's production was done by Jonny Maudling (who played the keyboards and is a member from BAL-SAGOTH), who did a great work, because the sound quality of the album is clear and we can understand clearly what is played, but with an approach that allows some rawness to exist. The art created by Maggotmeister at All Things Rotten is really very good as well.

Of course the band has a lot to offer to the listener, and every extreme Metal fan will love "Si Vis Pace, Para Bellum". The album has some guest vocals as well, and these guests are: Jonny Davies, Tarkan Alp, Chris Maudling (guitarist/bass player of BAL-SAGOTH) and Cat Ballantyne. The album is excellent, and songs as the brutal and aggressive "Abyssus Abyssum Invocat" (that shows fine melodies and great guitar riffs), the excellent mix of Black Metal raw elements with Folk/Pagan parts of "Baralis" (great vocals duets between harsh vocals and clean/Pagan ones), the raw Black Metal insight on some parts of "Spear of Destiny" (that shows some beautiful melodic moments as well), the changes of tempos on the melancholic "The Gun to My Head", the brutal grasping energy of "Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum", and the slow and intense morbid atmosphere presented on "Ouroboros, Thou Art Leviathan!" (that shows a great work from bass guitar and drums is presented on this one) can be said as the album's finest moments.

Hear this, at any cost!