EMBRACE OF THORNS formed in Greece in 1999. From Bandcamp, "the raging Black/Death manifestations are, since then, perpetually expanding and evolving, vomiting fire and curses, continuing the tradition of the incarnated forms of darkness that declared war on the unsuspected feeble zealots almost three decades ago in the temple of black/death vortex." The album has eleven tracks.

"Blackest Orthodoxy Perpetuated" is the first. From the opening notes, it sounds like Old School Black Metal to me...machine-gun drumming, re-hashed riffs, and filthy gutturals. There is also a bit of Thrash/Death mixed in. "The Arrow of Time" is a shorter song, with audible heart beats and background ambiance. The backing elements sound deadly and ominous, with a marching beat from the drums. "The Breath of the Beast" is an amalgam of Death and Black Metal. They stick to the traditions of the past however, with riffs and sounds that you have heard before. I often question why bands do this? That middle section however is harrowing.

"I Wish You Burn in an Endless Funeral Pyre" is more of the same. Through five songs, they have established their sound as brutal and harrowing, but not very original, nor willing to take a lot of chances. "The Lament of the Destroyed" has some chilling effects to start, then rolls into the main riff, which again, is not anything that you haven't heard before, or overly complicated. The middle of the song is packed with sound, but besides it being brutal, there is not much else going for it. "Transformation into a Celestial Soul" features some differences, especially in the way the vocals are delivered, and the woeful sounds out of the riffs. But the drums and guitars pound away without any audible bass notes, something that it often mixed out in the genre, to my chagrin. "Vultures' Ritual Dance" is a straightforward bruiser that features heavy accents in the riffs with matching vocals. It might be the best song on the album, and goes forward boldly and with a black heart.

"Uluation" closes the album; another short moody song, with spoken female words in Latin, I believe. It might be the final ritual to prepare for the ultimate sacrifice...your soul. Overall, one only needs to read the names of the songs and the names of the band members to get at what sound lies within the album. Unfortunately, it is too Old School influenced, and repetitive. There are some nice dark moments on the album, but it falls flat overall.