Enthroned – Towards the Skullthrone of Satan – Review

Enthroned

Towards the Skullthrone of Satan (Metal Blade)
by Scott Hefflon

The second record by these Christian-hating black metalers, Towards… finds a session drummer (Da Cardoen from Asphyxia) stepping in for Cernunnos (who committed suicide because he couldn’t stand living in a world full of Christians), but apparently the drummer’s seat has now been filled by Blackthorn. With very few exceptions, Towards… launches into a hyperspeed assault of early-’90s school black metal and rarely gives the listener a break. A few passages of dramatic guitar riffage, but nothing too complicated. Enthroned go straight for the jugular, bypassing keyboards and other accessories often utilized in the spreading of the evil word. Corpsepaint or not, evil, hateful ideas or not, I just dislike this kind of blurred guitar and Tupperware-tapping drumming. While this is a “vintage” sound and a bare-bones aesthetic, it just sounds juvenile and boring when compared to the overwhelming mixes and genre-melding styles that black metal has to offer. For purists only, I guess.
(2828 Cochran St. PMB #302 Simi Valley, CA 93065)