West Yorkshire is known, at least in the Metal world, for bands like MY DYING BRIDE and PARADISE LOST. It's a breeding ground for some of the best Doom and Gothic Metal that the country has to offer, a list of which would be too many to mention here. But recently, it has become a breeding ground for some of the best underground Black Metal bands in the UK, such as A FOREST OF STARS. SLAUGHTER THRONE is one of the better bands to come out of this scene, and they have quickly gained themselves a following after forming last year. They take inspiration from a lot of the greatest Black Metal acts in the world today, such as 1349, BEHEMOTH and BELPHEGOR, and this comes across in their music. They've moved and progressed quickly, and have just released their debut EP "Wrath of an Ancient Darkness", a short, sharp blast of Blackened Death Metal which has been putting audiences under their infernal spell at venues across the North East.

The song, which opens this album, "Black Forest", begins as an eerie, mid-paced dirge, which becomes a fast and intense Black Metal tune as it progresses, and, quite frankly, there is no better song I can think of that could have opened this record. Unlike a lot of Blackened Death Metal bands, these guys get the balance between the Black and the Death just right, especially on this song. Then comes the EPs title track, a song that BEHEMOTH would be proud to call one of their own. It's driven mainly by the drums, which charge through the song like an unholy juggernaut, and perfectly compliment the Guitars and Vocals on this song. The penultimate track, "Baptizo de Sanguis" takes a lot of its cues from bands like BELPHEGOR, and at the same time has its own sound. The final and best song on this EP, "Altar of the Black Goat", starts with an awesome drum section, which builds tension in anticipation of the brilliance that the audience get to experience for the next. It's another mid-paced anthem, and much in the way of songs such as BEHEMOTH's "Ov the Fire and the Void", it benefits from being much slower. If this song were an incredibly fast, relentless track, then it would have lost a lot of its aura. It also has some really great guitar and vocal lines. And with chants of "WE ARE THE ARMY OF SATAN!", the track trails off into the black abyss from whence it came, ending this brilliant EP.

I can't recommend that you listen to this enough. They are one of the few bands in the North of England that look set to storm the UK, and maybe even the world, with their music in the future. If you enjoy Black Metal, then this band should have already crossed your radar by now, or at least they will soon.<