Belgian Black Metal quintet ENTHRONED released their tenth studio album "Sovereigns" through Agonia Records yesterday. I am slowly immersing into the world of Black Metal and as a brand new listener to ENTHRONED this album provided the ideal opportunity to inspect their sound.

The album starts off with atmospheric instrumental "Anteloquium" that gives the listener a sense of what sort of ambiance to expect, which of course is dark and bleak. What you'd expect on a Black Metal album. With the first couple of tracks "Sine Qua Non" and "Of Feathers and Flames" underway I honestly found it quite hard at first to really engage myself into the album as both tracks sounded very similar with a lot of hard-hitting aggression.

For me personally, things perked up on the album when "Lamp Of Invisible Lights" started to play as the aggression is toned down and the tempo of this track being ideal for head banging at their shows. As the album progressed, the sound did start to grow on me; particularly where in songs such as "The Edge Of Agony" and "Baal al-Maut" where the melodic guitar riffs and solos tone down the aggression making it easier for me to listen to.

For a first listen to the band and the album in general it was average for me. The album most certainly had the crucial elements needed to create a Black Metal album. It may not have been my cup of tea but black metal fans, especially those who like ENTHRONED, will enjoy the latest specimen.