ALBUM REVIEW: Hecate Enthroned – Embrace Of The Godless Aeon

Here I review the new album from one of the UK’s more known Black Metal bands, Hecate Enthroned with a fresh full length release. Out now via M-Theory Audio!

1. Ascension starts things with some cheerfully chilling keyboard, really creating a gorgeous ambience that drives into more epic synths beautifully. This introduction was a great way to set an epic yet sombre vibe for the music ahead.
2. Revelations In Autumn Flame fires us right into blistering symphonies, ferocious guitars and blasting drums all topped with harshly screamed vocals. The catchy riffs and furious pace of the music is immediately stunning and aggressive with vibrant melodies shining through gloriously. Fierce musicianship with a relatively raw yet concise production allows this song to really pack a punch and start as they mean to go on.
3. Temples That Breathe opens with more epic synths that really bring the song in nicely. The frenzied assaults instrumentally soon drop right in with fantastic form. More vocals with grisly growls and shrieked highs punishingly fired over the instruments completes the mix once more. This track is upbeat and incredibly fun to listen to with the decimating array of extremity that is just excellent. There is melancholy to be found within the storming musical assaults that adds some emotional contradiction and diversity to the piece. Brilliant!
4. Goddess Of Dark Misfits begins with piano that is both haunting and foreboding. The more gothic touches like the clean vocals are immediately reminiscent of early Cradle Of Filth to me, this is slowly faded into grooving guitars and punchy drums with demonic growls. The track is huge in sound with monstrously heavy tones and also glacially bright synths that work in juxtaposition to create a unique mix of soundscapes. The female vocals added a nice Fleshgod Apocalypse type of vibe to the track which was really cool. Another killer piece!
5. Whispers Of The Mountain Ossuary follows up with more synths that take a simple yet ambient approach to beginning this track, leading on from the last incredibly smoothly. The slower pace crawl into morbid Black Metal with a grisly atmosphere to the piece is really stunning yet also unnervingly tense. A catatonically brooding piece of music with dense walls of guitars and drums, harsh yet very pleasant vocals, beautiful keyboards and a crushingly emotional twist to everything. Glorious!
6. Enthralment drops us right in with grooving, dissonant guitars, intense keyboard, fantastic drumming and a hellishly high scream. The soaring riffs and eerie atmosphere is discordant yet completely under control and filled with impact. A ferocious and monolithic piece of Blackened Death Metal is what we get this time around with plentiful haunting synths and an overall incredibly well orchestrated track. This is a combination of bombarding us with brutality and also elevating things into a much more tranquil sound space. The acoustic guitars and piano broke the song up perfectly to allow momentum to rebuild while keeping us on edge. Gorgeous, horrifying and downright amazing, by far my favourite track of the album!
7. The Shuddering Giant slams right back in with fast paced, old school Black Metal riffing, upbeat drums and more laid back synths. The cascading darkness of the song is completed by some excellent shrieked vocals sending the abyss forth with furiously harsh but equally melodic force. The more traditional attack of the song is incredible and really enjoyable with phenomenal execution, perfectly tailored production and a great energy being put in by the band. This track was another really solid piece of music.
8. Silent Conversations With Distant Stars thrashes into life with more crazy drums, memorable riffs and light synths that together create a gorgeous atmosphere that is forcefully thrown at you with the whole bands might. The vocals are layered perfectly into the music to work with the instruments rather than compete with them and it allows the melodies of the song to really dance and be lively to listen to. This song was incredibly upbeat and shows little sign of the album drawing to an end, actually it was one of the more punchy pieces on the album. The ending sections led the track out beautifully too, fantastic!
9. Erebus And Terror closes the album. Starting with eerie church bell samples and ambience, this track seems like it is going to be incredibly dark. Slowly progressing into more epic synths with simple but catchy drum beats, some thing heavy is coming… Nope, the song completely shocks with sparse and bleak guitars, slow tempo drums and more female vocals. I was expecting an all out assault and this was the complete opposite, credits to the band for unpredictability. A harmonious and gorgeous ending to the album, bowing out with grace and grooves alike.

This is some gorgeously melodic and fantastically atmospheric Black Metal from Hecate Enthroned. A totally obliterating new album filled with gorgeous synths, blistering riffs, furious drums and hideously harsh vocals. A wonderful new release! -8/10