I wouldn't really expect Brussels to be the base of the approximately 20 years old Satanic quartet, ENTHRONED. A band quite productive with "Obsidium" being their ninth full length album in their 20 years of existence. ENTHRONED enjoy the cult Black Metal band status with rare live appearances that are testimonies of mysticism and the casual life cycle of a Black Metal band - member suicide included.

The 39 minutes spanning album contains nine songs that blend traditional Black Metal forms combined with Death Metal elements. The songs include the typical Black Metal blast beats plus occasional breakdowns some haunting choruses here and there and vocals that switch between typical Black Metal and cleaner that tends towards Gothic. The songs in this record are all similarly structured and I found more interesting the opener, "Horns Aflame" and "The Final Architect".

"Obsidium" has very polished production for a Black Metal record which enhances the overall feeling of the record. Probably people that are used to four canal productions and the sound of prime petroleum slowly burning in a frying pan might be disappointed. To sum up "Obsidium" is one of the best Black Metal records I have listened to lately (though I have to admit that I am following the genre as close as possible). ENTHRONED know how to craft dark and malevolent songs and eventually achieve occult atmosphere in this record.