Crimson Throne

OF VOID & SOLITUDE

APOCALYPTIC WITCHCRAFT CHILLINGLY EXPANSIVE BLACK METAL WITH BOTH BRAINS AND BRAWN After impressing with their selftitled EP last year, an eerie release that captured the sound of Norway circa ’93 with uncanny accuracy, this UK BM quartet have blossomed into something far more unique with their debut full-length. While the band’s love for early Emperor and Immortal is still evident, they outgrow their influences over the course of

these seven labyrinthine tracks – plus the obligatory atmospheric intro – to produce a fresh spin on the black metal blueprint. Songs like Scattered and sprawling opener Dalit Lineage showcase the group’s evolution, fusing intricate acoustic passages, nightmarish plunges into dissonance and hypnotically textured vistas with no-nonsense blasts of bitter, frosty black metal. Progressively minded but not afraid to go for the jugular, Of Void & Solitude is arguably the most exciting black metal record to come out of the UK this year.

FOR FANS OF: EMPEROR, WODENSTHRONE, GORGOROTH

KEZ WHELAN